Archie's and Aria's Weird Mysteries!
by NixieLovesAwesomeStories
Summary: It's Archie's Weird Mysteries but his cousin Aria gets involved in writing these with him! This IS a love story! between Jughead, OC and Dilton!
1. Prolouge

Prologue

Name: Aria Andrews

Age: 16

Birthday: Unknown for now.

Family: Archie Andrews (Cousin), Archie's Parents (Aunt & Uncle)

Home: NYC but moves to Riverdale for one year of school for parental/school problems.

Fashion: Modern/Futuristic/Vintage

Friends: None until Archie introduces her to his friends

Personality: Shy and quiet until she opens up. Happy go lucky, Kind, Generous, sweet, Loving toward kids and animals, smart, friendly, loyal and honest.

Likes: Sweets, Archie's friends, Vintage stuff, Roller skating, movies of most genre, nerdy stuff, Math, science, History, Archie's article's, fashion of all ages, mysteries, Pop's burger joint.

Dislikes: Reggie's attitude most of the time, Veronica's snootiness and whining most of the time, Bullies, and most vegetables.

Allergies: Bee Stings

Love interest: Jughead and Dilton.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Welcome to Riverdale!

*Archie's POV *

I was waiting at the airport a few towns away from Riverdale. It was 6 AM! The airport was 4 hours away from there. Granted I was speeding and there was no traffic but going back it will take about 6 hours or so. I was waiting for my cousin Aria. She was going to be living with me and my family for a year. School will be starting in 5 weeks so she would be attending Riverdale High with me and my friends. Hopefully my friends will like her and hopefully _Reggie_ won't flirt with her. I wonder what she's like. Last time I saw her was a month before Betty moved in next door. New York City was a big and different place. I don't know why my aunt and uncle moved there. It's big and tough. I hope she's ok. I heard from dad that she gets into fights a lot. He also said his brother and sister in law keep arguing with her and punishing her for stuff. Maybe things will be better here. I was becoming impatient. I began tapping my foot while looking at my watch. * Where is she? * I thought as the people started exiting the flight she was suppose to be on. * I don't know why mom and dad wanted me to pick her up. Oh well. At least I get to see her. * I thought as I was looking around for her. After all she had orange hair like me. It shouldn't be that hard to-oh Wait. * I see her! * I thought while waving at her trying to get her attention.

* Aria's POV *

I was getting off of a LONG flight. I wanted to get there soon and this was the only time I could get here. 3 hours. Oh well. Just as long as I got away from my mom and dad. Hopefully my aunt and uncle will be a little bit better. I haven't seen Archie since we were 6 or so. I missed him. I read his emails and emailed him back a lot. He told me about his friends, his love triangle, and his weird mysteries articles and how it started with his friend, Dilton, making a ray that accidentally hit the town causing it to become a magnet for weirdness. I enjoyed them a lot. * Archie said he'd let me join in on his 'Weird Mysteries' articles. That might be fun. * I thought to myself as I walked off the plane. Headphones on my head and music blasting in my ears. I was tired and cramped up but I stretched and looked around before spotting Archie waving at me frantically.

I smiled as I ran to him and hugged him, letting my headphones fall to my neck. "Archie Andrews. I've missed you so much." I stated as he hugged me tighter. "Heh. I've missed you too Aria." He said as he let go of me. We walked over to the baggage claim and waited for my stuff to arrive. "So? Where is Uncle Fred and Aunt Mary?" I asked puzzled. "Oh. Well; you arrived here a day sooner than planned so they won't be back home until tomorrow afternoon. In the meantime I'll be driving us back to Riverdale as soon as your luggage arrives. Which one will be yours?" Archie asked. "Well, I have my lucky back pack on and you've seen my 'wizard' trunk before." I stated as I pointed my torn up lucky backpack that was lavender and have had since I was 8 so there were some rips, holes, and patches on it. "YOU'RE TRUNK?! YOU BROUGHT THAT?!" He asked/yelled/exclaimed rather loudly near my ear. As I was using my finger to rub inside my ear I continued. "Yes. I didn't have a suitcase and I don't like being away from it for a whole year. Plus I don't trust it with my mom and dad AND its my favorite trunk since the coolest cousin in the WHOLE WORLD got it for me for my 13th birthday!" Archie just rubbed his head and chuckled a bit. "Well I suppose it makes sense for you to bring your prized possessions. But wont it be heavy?" Archie asked as I shook my head. "I don't have a lot of stuff nor a lot of clothes so its only half full and thus less heavy." I told him.

Before he could say anything else I pointed out my trunk to him and he grabbed it. I tried to help him but he insisted on carrying it all the way to his car exclaiming 'Ronnie', meaning Veronica, always has him do stuff like this. I told him that wasn't fair but all he said was love makes you do stupid and crazy things. I rolled my eyes as we got to his car. Man did I love that car. 'Betsy', as Archie has named her, was a '57 Fury in a beautiful red. I loved old cars. I didn't see many of them in the city but out here, besides Archie's car, I might see more classic beauties like this one. "Man Arch, I really love Betsy. She's a classic beauty." I flat out told him while slightly gawking at it as I stepped into the car. He finished putting my trunk in the trunk and walked up to the driver's side "Yeah she is a beauty." Archie agreed after getting into the car. Then he started her up and we were on our way to Riverdale.

We hit pretty bad traffic but after that we were ten minutes away from town. All of a sudden we heard a 'GROWL….Grumble grumble.' "What was _THAT?_ " Archie asked looking around. "Ehehehe. That was me and my stomach. Sorry Archie but I mostly slept through the plane ride. Can we stop to eat?" I let him know and he nodded with a smile. * I know that smile.* I thought to myself. Whenever Archie gets an idea he gets this certain smile that I'm very fond of. "I know just the place." He stated as we continued down the road right into Riverdale.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Continuing Through Riverdale!

* Aria's POV*

We soon pulled up to this place called 'Pop Tate's' and I immediately recognized the name. * This is the place Archie's mentioned to me a few times.* I thought as I looked at him. "Here we are. Pop Tate's! Home of the BEST burgers in Riverdale." Archie exclaimed as we both got out of the car. "I remember you telling me about this place. I've been dying to try one." I said with a smile. We both walked inside and I IMMEDIATELY loved it! It was decorated to look like an 80's restaurant. Back end of a car on the top wall that hung over a juke box, The whole 9 yards and more! I was gawking at this place until Archie finally snapped me out of it. "You going to stand there and gawk or are we going to eat?" He asked as I walked over to the booth and sat on the opposite side of him. "Arch I know you've told me about this place but this is even BETTER than I could've dreamed off." I admitted as I still looked around for a bit. "Hey Archie. Who's this young lady with you?" I heard a voice as I looked up and saw a gentleman in his late 30's to early 40's in a stripped uniform and a fast food hat on. He also had black curly hear, a black mustache, and kind blue eyes. "Hey Pops. This is Aria, My cousin. Aria, This is Pop Tate, the owner." He introduced us. "Pleasure to meet you sir." I said as I shook his hand. "Pleasures mine. And you can call me Pops. Everyone does. So your Aria huh? I can see some resemblances. How do you like Riverdale so far?" He asked as I smiled wider. "Well Archie just brought me here from the airport to be honest but I know I'll like it here. Well at least this place. It's AWESOME!" I told him. " 'Chuckles' wait till you try my burgers. I'll bring you kids a couple. How many?" He asked "One is good for me Pops along with a soda and fries please. Aria?" He said then looked at me. "Um Archie? I don't have money." I whispered as I looked at him. "My treat." He said as I smiled. "Then 5 of your largest cheese burgers with no veggies, mayo, and side of fries with a soda as well please." I said politely as they both stared at me. "What? I slept through the plane ride and never had dinner/breakfast before the flight." I stated plainly. "Well at least you have an appetite. I value that in my customers. I'll get it Asap. Oh and Arch the fries are on me." Pops said as he left. "Wow. Thanks Pops." Archie hollered at Pops as he smiled. "Are you sure you can eat ALL THAT?" He said poking fun at me. "Believe me Arch, I can." I smiled and then thought about it. "Does the juke work?" I asked. "Sure. Here." Archie said handing me a couple quarters. "Cool. Be right back." I said as I went straight for the jukebox and looked through the songs.

* What one?* I thought as I looked through the many selections. Some of these songs went as far back as the 60's, which was a plus in my book, but it DID make choosing a bit harder. I was taking longer than I wanted to take until I found a certain song that I _knew_ Archie knew and liked as well as I. * Perfect* I thought as I inserted the quarter and was about to pick the song someone started talking to me. "Hey there doll face. Your new. How bout I show you around town?" I looked and saw a boy about my age with black hair, blue striped shirt, and tan khakis, and dark brown shoes. I looked at him closer and gave him a thinking look while putting my finger on my chin. " Hmmm. Nope! Never gonna happen." I said as I turned back to the juke box and played the song 'Let's Groove' By Earth, Wind and Fire and walked away. "Aw come on. Why not Doll face? We're obviously a perfect match since we're both so good looking." He stated. * Uhg.* I thought as I saw Archie. "Sorry but I'm not interested in egotistical Neanderthals." I told him as I sat back down with Archie. He didn't notice Archie as the guy sat next o me and put his arm around me. "Aw come on Doll Face." He said, and probably would've continued, if Archie had not of intervened. "Reggie Mantel you leave my cousin alone." He scolded as the boy, Reggie, finally noticed Archie and looked between us. "Huh? Cousin? THIS is your COUSIN?!" Reggie practically yelled as he then looked back at me. "Well, other than the hair and freckles, you look NOTHING alike." He stated. "Good. I don't think 'Doll Face' fits Arch too well." I said while stifling a laugh. Archie gave a look to Reggie and then looked at me. "Well I see you met my 'friend' Reggie. And her name is Aria. NOT Doll face." He scolded Reggie. "Whatever. Never knew you were _THIS_ good looking. If you ever wanna go out you just let me Know Doll face." He said with a wink. "I'll consider it when pigs fly and a volcano freezes." I told him. "So there _is_ a chance." He said as he smiled and put his arm back around my shoulder.

I just smacked my head as our food came out. "Hey Pops can I have a burger too?" Reggie asked. "Yes Pops. At another table would be pleasant." I said as I pulled his arm off my shoulder again. "Reggie. Please leave Archie and Aria alone." Pops said as he moved him. "Sorry Archie. I know he's your friend but I'm going to be greedy today and keep you for myself. At least today. Plus he's annoying." I told him truthfully. "Reggie can be nice, when it benefits him, but I understand. We haven't really seen each other in a long while." He said as I tried not to laugh at the 'Reggie being nice' part. I could smell the burgers in front of me as I grabbed one and bit into it. The next thing Archie knew my eyes were watering and sparkling. "Um Aria? You ok?" Pops noticed my look to. "You ok Aria?" He asked as well. I whipped my tears as I said "I'm ok. This is just so delicious. Like biting into a piece of heaven that it made me very happy." I said very poetic like. Archie was laughing a bit while Pops was touched. "That was beautiful. Just like Jughead's words." Pops said. "Indeed it was." I heard a new voice as I looked and saw a boy with black hair, blue shirt and shorts that looked like they were from the 70's and wore a tin crown on his head. "Jughead. I'm surprised your up this early." Archie said as Pops left. * Probably to get his food. Wait. Did he order?* I thought as I looked back at Jughead, who was now, sitting next to Archie. * He's kinda cute.* I thought. "Well Arch I was hungry. Plus I remembered you saying something about your cousin coming out this way, since you talked about it all summer, I decided to pop down this way to see if you were going to take her here to eat. And I was right." He stated as he looked at me. "Jughead Jones. Aria I take it. Unless your a clone of her or someone else." He said which caused me to laugh lightly. "Aria. So YOUR Jughead hm? Well it's finally nice to meet you." I told him as I already started my 2nd burger. "Jeeze Arch. Hungry?" He asked as he was about to take one of my burgers before I slapped his hand away. "Ow" I heard him. "Mine." I stated as I finished my 2nd one and started on my 3rd. "Easy Aria. Don't make yourself sick. You act like you haven't ate a good meal in months." Archie said as Jughead soon caught on that those were all MY burgers. "Wait. These 5 er um 2 left are yours?" Jughead asked. "Yes." I said now on my 4th.

As I took a break 1/3rd of the way to drink my soda Pops came over with 10 burgers for Jughead but then looked at my plate. "Jughead. Don't tell me you ate hers." Pops said as Jughead was shaking his head no. "He didn't Pops. I smacked his hand before he could. I'm just **REALLY** hungry." I told him as I ate a couple fries before continuing with the burger. "Wow. You really _were_ hungry. Well if you need anymore don't hesitate to ask." He said with a smile as he gave Jughead his food and left. "Jughead. Nothing personal but could you eat at another-" Archie started before I stopped him. "No no. It's ok Arch. Jughead's better company then Reggie. Besides were almost done here." I said as I began my last burger and already finished my fries. "Well ok." Archie said as we ate. "So * munch munch* Whats the city like?" He asked eating what I believed was his 3rd burger already. "Not too nice. Very noisy and bright at night. Good place to shop for fashionable stuff though if I was fully into that. Crummy schools. Basically whatever you see on TV or in the movies is usually right depending on the area anyways." I said as I was now sipping on the last of my soda. "I'm sorry I don't have money yet Archie but as soon as I can earn some I'll pay ya back." I told him feeling guilty about this. "No worries. It's my treat either way. Plus I think it's responsible of you to use whatever you have saved for school stuff and clothes and other important stuff." Archie said. "Don't you have a lot of your stuff here anyways?" Jughead asked. "No. Only my prized stuff and, not including this outfit, three. Most of my clothes got…...ruined." I muttered as I looked away. The two of them looked at each other with a 'Huh?' before Archie asked how. "I don't really want to talk about it." I said while I looked at them and smiled. "Besides. It's not that important. Now whenever your ready you can show me the rest of Riverdale." I told him as Archie left the money on the table. "Ok. Well I'll see ya later Jughead." Archie said as he got up. "Ok. See ya Arch. Bye Aria." Jughead said with a wave and a bite of another burger. "Bye Jughead." I said sweetly as I waved my hand at him and left with Archie out the door.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Continuing On With The Tour!

* Aria's POV*

Archie showed me around most of Riverdale. He decided to show me the school and the grounds. " said it was ok to." He told me. We got there and he showed me around. "If you get lost you can ask me or my friends. Hopefully you get used to it here." he said as I nodded. We then got near the science lab when he stopped at the door. "I'm sure Dilton's here. Come on. You can meet him now." He said while going inside. I quickly followed and saw a boy who, also had, black hair wore a green tropical shirt and shorts and a lab coat with gloves. He wore goggles and maybe glasses? I wasn't sure. He seemed to not notice us as he continued with an experiment. * This science lab is much better than my old school's.* I thought as I saw all the chemistry equipment. "Hey Dilton." Archie said scaring Dilton with a 'wah' and he almost dropped his 'experiment'. "Don't do that!" He yelled as he looked at Archie. "Oh. Hi Archie." He said and then he looked over my way and he froze. "So _your_ Dilton?" I questioned as I approached him with a smile. "Aria Andrews. Pleasure to meet your acquaintance. Archie's mentioned you a few times. Mainly about how your 'Experimental Ray' backfired and made the town a magnet for weird mysteries for his column." I said as I waited for him to reply. "Fasinating." He mumbled. "Excuse me?" I asked not hearing him. "Oh. Uh. Yes. I'm Dilton. Aria Andrews. Don't tell me your Archie's Cousin." He said while shaking my hand as I nodded. "Well that explains the red hair and freckles." He said as he finally stopped shaking my hand.

"What are you working on now?" I asked. "Just getting a head start on my school work." He said. "Well as soon as I get my supplies I think I should start on a few as well. Maybe you could tutor me? Going to a new school I won't know the learning speed until I start so I'm sure I could use help." I mentioned. "Uh. Sure. I can help you during my free time." He said. "Great." I said with a bright smile as Archie coughed. "We should get going. Not only for you to get thing you need but we also need to drop your stuff off at home, set you up in the guest room, and maybe even meet Betty and Veronica today." He said. "Oh. Ok. I'll talk to you soon Dilton." I said as I waved. "Bye Dilton." Archie waved as Dilton waved back. * He was cute too.* I thought as we went back out to the car and went to his house.

Archie opened the trunk and pulled out my trunk. "Archie I can do this. It's not heavy and-" I started before he cut me off. "No. It's ok. I've got it. Just go inside and make yourself at home ok?" I shook my head. "Let me help." I told him as he tossed me my lavender backpack. "Here. Your helping now." He said as he lifted up the trunk. " 'sigh' Archie. Sometimes." I said before two girls ran up to him. "Archie!" They both yelled as they soon clung on to him and him 'almost' dropping my trunk. "Archie we haven't seen you all day." Said the blond. "Yeah Archie-kins, you haven't even said 'hi' to us today." The black haired girl said. * Oh boy. These girls must be Betty and Veronica.* I thought as I coughed to catch their attentions. I went over to Archie and started to take the trunk from him. "You catch up. I'll bring this inside." I went to take it but he wouldn't budge. "No I've got it. Just go inside. There's something there for you anyways." He stated. "Archie! I told you no gifts." I said running inside as he smiled.

I went into the living room and saw the bag right away. I opened it and saw a pair of clip on roller skates the I could clip on over my non heeled shoes like my boots I was wearing. They were painted black with purple sparkled wheels that looked like they could glow in the dark. Archie knew I couldn't find these anywhere in the city. * That sneak.* I smiled as I Immediately put them on and skated out of the house, jumped over the 3 front steps, and skated up to him. "Archie!" I screamed as he turned around, Trunk on the ground, and soon had me collide into him hugging him. "Thank you thank you THANK YOU! Your the coolest cousin EVER!" I screamed out of joy. "Heh. I knew you'd love them. They also glow in the dark." He mentioned as I looked at him with a smile. "Oh so this is your cousin." I looked over at the girls and turned red. * I forgot they were there.* I thought. "Let me guess. 'points to blond' Your Betty Cooper 'Points to the other girl' which means your Veronica Lodge." I said as they soon greeted me. "Yes. It's very nice to meet you." Betty said with a warm smile as Veronica walked up to me and shook my hand as well. "Well you know us, Obviously me, but are you REALLY Archie's cousin?" She asked in disbelief. "Well, unless the real me was abducted by aliens and left me as an alien changeling with the wrong M.O. of being his cousin, then yes. Or at least thats what our DNA says." I replied with a goofy smile. "Yup. Your his cousin." I heard Veronica sigh as Betty looked at Archie then at me. "Aria Andrews." I told my name with a smile.

* Archie's POV*

Aria was trying to take her trunk from me but I wouldn't allow it. " 'Sigh' Archie. Sometimes." She said before I heard my name followed by a pair of arms on each arm. * Oh no!* I thought knowing it was Betty and Veronica. I had to tighten my grip on Aria's trunk so I wouldn't drop it. "Archie we haven't seen you all day." Said a perky Betty. "Yeah Archie-kins, you haven't even said 'hi' to us today." Ronnie said Shortly after. Suddenly I heard a cough. I looked at Aria as she came over to me and grabbed the trunk. "You catch up. I'll bring this inside." She said as she tried to take it from me but I wouldn't budge. "No I've got it. Just go inside. There's something there for you anyways." I stated. "Archie! I told you no gifts." She said while running inside. I smiled. * She's going to love it.* I thought before I heard Ronnie scoff. * Uh oh!* I thought again.

"Archie~! Why didn't you get _Me_ a gift? Why does this new girl get a gift? Who is _she_ anyways? Your Girlfriend?" Veronica started ranting. "Veronica! Your jumping to conclusions." Betty started before Veronica continued. "Betty. A new girl means we're being replaced." And then Betty had a look. "Your right!" she claimed. "Look girls." I started as I put Aria's Trunk down. "You've got the wrong idea." I started and put my hands in front of me in a defensive manner. "Archie!" I heard Aria scream. I turn around and soon she collided into me, nearly knocking me down, and hugged me. "Thank you thank you THANK YOU! Your the coolest cousin EVER!" She screamed out of joy. "Heh. I knew you'd love them. They also glow in the dark." I mentioned as she looked at me with a smile of pure happiness. * I haven't seen this smile in forever.* I thought before hearing "Oh so this is your cousin." She looked over at the girls and turned red. * She must've forgot they were there. She's embarrassed now.* I thought.

"Let me guess. 'points to blond' Your Betty Cooper 'Points to the other girl' which means your Veronica Lodge." She said as they soon greeted her. "Yes. It's very nice to meet you." Betty said with a warm smile as Veronica walked up to me and shook her hand as well. "Well you know us, Obviously me, but are you REALLY Archie's cousin?" She asked in disbelief. "Well, unless the real me was abducted by aliens and left me as an alien changeling with the wrong M.O. of being his cousin, then yes. Or at least thats what our DNA says." She replied with a goofy smile. * The things she comes out with.* I thought while smiling. "Yup. Your his cousin." I heard Veronica sigh as Betty looked at me then at Aria. "Aria Andrews." She told my name with a smile. * Well thats one problem solved.* I thought as I sighed with relief.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Getting Situated And Shopping Spree!

* Aria's POV*

Archie said he'd be right back while taking the trunk up to the guest room. I tried to tell him no but he said he would no matter what and wanted me to talk to Betty and Veronica to get used to them. I was nervous Archie told me A LOT about his friends but I wonder what he has said about me. "So Archie says you're going to be here for a whole year. Will you miss your friends in your old school?" Betty asks. "No. I don't have friends back at home." You said casually. "No friends?" Betty asked as if she didn't hear right. "Yeah. That's why Archie wants me to get to know everyone. So that when he's busy I don't always have to be alone." I told them. It really wasn't a big deal to me. "Oh. Well what kind of fashion do you like?" Veronica asked me looking at my wardrobe. It was long, black fingerless gloves, long blue jeans that were boot cut, I wore my black boots under my jeans, a pair of sparkly purple hoop earrings, right one was square while the left one was a circle, a sparkly purple tube top that lined in black and a thick black color with a purple sparkly gem in the center. "I like vintage, Futuristic, and modern." I told her as she just nodded. "Well not many people can pull it off but you seem to be pulling it off well." She said as Archie soon came back. "So. You girls getting along ok?" He asked.

"I like them." I told him flat out as I smiled at them. Then an idea hit me. "Hey Archie? Can they come with us to the mall? I'm going to need a 'girl's' opinion with some clothes." I asked sweetly. "Uh. Sure. That's actually a good idea." He said as I looked at the girls. "That is if you two wouldn't mind. I only have 3 outfits, not counting this one, and I have to pick up school supplies anyways." I explained. "ONLY 3 OUTFITS? HOW CAN YOU SURVIVE LIKE THAT? THAT'S IT! BETTY! WE"RE GOING WITH HER!" Veronica shouted as she soon grabbed me and Betty and drug us to Archie's car. "Come on Archie~!" Veronica slightly whined as Archie had a confused look, scratched his head with one finger, then shrugged and got in the car. We got to the mall and Veronica IMMEDIATELY started dragging me to a clothing store. "Hold on Veronica." I told her as I dug my heels into the ground to stop her. I went to Archie and gave him a list and some cash. "Archie, can you get my supplies? I don't know how much things are and not only do I have a feeling clothes shopping will take a while but I don't have a lot for clothes to spend so if we split up we can get done sooner." I told him. "Good idea." Archie said as he quickly went to get my school supplies. "Ok Veronica. I'm all yours and Betty's. Please nothing to expensive. Like I said I only have so much before I can earn anything." I told her. "Don't worry. I have some coupons that could help." Betty said as they led me to a few clothing stores.

I felt like I was being stared at and I wasn't entirely sure why. I looked at my outfit compared to other girls and figured that was it. It had to have been that. * I must look like a slut or something.* I thought. I wasn't pretty, not like Betty or Veronica, so it must've been that. We immediately got to a store and looked around for different clothing choices. Luckily for me these clothes weren't too expensive. I was looking around but not finding much to my liking. We stopped at 3 different clothing stores before I started losing hope. That was until we started going by a store when I stopped in my tracks and walked backwards to see a gorgeous outfit in the front window. I was practically drooling when I saw it. It was a Harley Davidson vintage looking black tee shirt that was ripped on the bottom, followed by a mid-thigh, but still appropriate, light blue jean shorts with tiny tassels under it, a pair of fishnet leggings that had rose patterns on them and black leather, ankle heeled, buckle boots, a black belt with the Harley buckle on it, a pair of short fingerless leather gloves with a couple studded bracelets on each wrist, a black studded leather purse, a pair of silver hoops, and a black hat to pull it all together. It was BEAUTIFUL!

"Hey! Didn't you hear us?" Betty said as I shook my head and immediately looked at them. "I'm sorry. I saw this outfit and just lost my thought." I said as I looked back at it. "Aria. That might not look good on you. Plus it's going to cost a lot to get." Veronica said. "I don't care if this is the only thing I get. I. WANT. IT." I said as I darted inside to see if I could try it on. I went into the changing room and tried it on. It fit PERFECTLY! Almost as if it were made just for me. I walked out and showed myself off. "Well! I was wrong. It DOES look good on you." Veronica said. "I can't believe you made Veronica ADMIT she was wrong about fashion!" Betty said in shock. The lady at the front desk came over to me and smiled. "It looks perfect on you." She said. I looked at the outfit price and paled. "What's wrong?" Betty asked. "I can't get it. I don't have enough." I said before the girl chimed in. "Well you're in luck. I've been trying to sell this outfit for so long that the whole thing is 85% off." She said with a smile as I nearly fainted. "Wow. That's lucky." Betty said as I paid for it and kept the outfit on as I put my clothes, shoes, accessories, and the price tags and receipt in the bag while wearing my new outfit. I bought a couple other stuff and used up all my cash right away. We left the store and I felt AMAZING! The girls could tell to. We saw Archie at the front along with Jughead and Reggie. "Oh no! Not Reggie again." I muttered as they looked at me. "Let me guess. He flirted with you as well?" Betty asked as I nodded. "Typical Reggie." Was all Veronica said as we walked up to the boys. "Archie! I scored big time!" I told him as he saw my new outfit and a few bags I was carrying. "Wow! I'd say so Doll Face!" Reggie said as he whistled. "Wasn't talking to you Mr. Egotistical Neanderthal." I said which caused everyone, except Reggie, to laugh.

"Oh haha! If you went on a date with me you'd see." He said. "And like I said, when pigs fly and a volcano freezes." I reminded him. "Well I think you look great." Jughead said out of the blue to you. Everyone froze. Jughead has never really said that to a girl plain out. Sometimes Betty but even she knew Jughead wasn't the type to care about fashion or clothes. "Th-Thank you." I said while blushing a very light shade of pink. * He thinks I look great?* I thought. "Um. We should get home 's getting late." Archie said. "Ok Archie. Bye everyone." I said waving goodbye while Archie and I left. We got back and I went upstairs to put my stuff away properly and then got ready for bed. * I can't wait to see more of Riverdale tomorrow.* I thought as I laid in bed and fell asleep quickly.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: What to do?

*Aria's POV*

I woke up and looked around my new room. It had plain white walls, a window, a decent sized closet, and wood floors. The blankets were a floral print. * I wonder if Aunt Mary and Uncle Fred will let me paint and decorate the room? Probably not. I'm only here for a year.* I thought as I got up and stretched. After hearing my bones and joints pop I decided to grab one of my new outfits and head to the bathroom to shower. My outfit was a pair of jeans and my boots that I first arrived in along with a 'Little Monster' black shirt with the words in silver along with my purple earrings I first wore and 12 bangles, 6 silver and 6 purple, for my wrists instead of my gloves. I started the shower and stripped off my dirty clothes, putting them in the hamper, as the water warmed up. Once the water was warm enough to my liking I slipped in and began bathing. I was putting conditioner in my hair when I, unintentionally, started singing 'The Longest Time' by Billy Joel. I finished showering and started singing a new song, once I finished the other one, as I got ready for the day. As I was putting on eye liner my voice was still quiet but strong and confident by now.

"Ooohhh~ we gotta hooold on. Ready or not. You live for the fight when that's ALL THAT YOU'VE GOT WOOOAAAHHHH we're half way theeere WOOOAAAHHH! Living on a praaayer! Take my hand and we'll make it I sweeear! WOOOAAAHHH! Living on a praayer! WOOOAAAHHHH we're half way theeere WOOOAAAHHH! Living on a praaayer! Take my hand and we'll make it I sweeear! WOOOAAAHHH! Living on a praayer! Woooaaahhh we're half way theeere wooaahhh! Living on a praaayer! Take my hand and we'll make it I sweeear! Wooaahhh! Living on a praayer!" I finished singing 'Living on a Prayer' by Bon Jovi as I walked out of the bathroom and went down stairs. I saw no sign of Archie as I looked at the time. 7 AM! * Whyyyyy!* I wined in my head as I decided to grab a bag of pop tarts and go outside as I put my new attachable roller skates on and put my headphones on with music blasting as I was soon out the door.

Riverdale was a small town when driving but when walking it was big. * Good thing I have skates.* I thought as 'Eye of the Tiger' by Survivor was blaring in my ears. I was skating around town just to see if I could remember certain land marks. That was a bit hard since I got lost a couple times. I wasn't sure what time it was as I soon found a park. * Perfect!* I thought as I went in the park and started to skate along the trails while avoiding people. * I wonder if there is a roller place around here.* I wondered as I did a quick spin and then continued forward. I made my way out the other end of the park and started skate dancing to 'Ray of Light' by Madonna. For some reason when I'm in Riverdale I feel like I could relax and forget myself. It was a nice change of pace actually. I felt. Free! I started skating sideways, backwards, in circles, and forward as I soon rounded a corner and slammed right into someone. "Woah!" I yelped out as I started to loose balance and fall. Before I hit the ground I felt a hand grab my wrist and I got pulled up by the person. My headphones fell to my neck as I regained balance. "I'm sorry." I quickly spurted out. "Aw it's alright." I heard a familiar voice.

I looked up and saw Jughead standing there with a smile on his face and still holding my wrist. "Oh!" I said and then smiled. "Hi Jughead." I said as we both looked at my wrist. He quickly let go and I blushed and looked away from him. "Thanks." I mumbled. "Anytime." He replied. "Hey! Is Arch with you?" He suddenly asked after an awkward 20 seconds of silence. "Hm? He's not with you?" I asked as he shook his head. "Last I checked he was home. Wait? What time is it?" I asked as I looked at him. "Its almost 1 o'clock. Why?" He asked as my eyes went wide. "I left at 7. Oh man! Archie's gonna be mad!" I exclaimed as Jughead calmed me down. "It's ok. He'll find you. Hey I know. I was heading to Pop's to get something to eat. How bout we go there together? Arch is bound to look for you there." He said. "Great idea." I told him as we started heading that way together. "Oh." I chimed right when we got there and I stopped. "What's wrong?" He asked. "I….Uh….I don't have any money. I used it all to get some new clothes and school supplies." I told him in disappointment. "Don't worry bout it. We'll share a plate and Arch can pay me back another time." He said as I looked at him. "I couldn't ask you to-" I started saying before my stomach growled loudly. "Well it's settled then. Your stomach agrees with me." He said as he took my hand and as he dragged/rolled me in continued "Besides. What kind of friend would I be if I ate in front of you when you had nothing and were hungry?" He asked as we soon took a seat at a booth. "I guess so." I said as I felt guilty but happy as well.

* He's so nice.* I thought as Pop's came up to us. "Hey Jughead. Oh. Hi Aria. Where's Archie?" He asked. "Last I saw he was home. He might look for me so Jughead said to wait here for him." I explained. "Oh. Makes sense. The usual Jughead?" He asked. "Make it more Pop's. I'm treating Aria till Arch gets here." He said. Pop nearly dropped his pencil. "Your paying? AND your paying for someone else? Now I've seen it all." Pop's said as he left to get the burgers. "What does he mean by that?" I asked. "Well...Usually I pay for myself when I have money or put it on a tab that I later pay off, like I'm doing now, or Arch usually pays for some of my burgers." He confessed. "No WONDER Archie was okay with paying for my food yesterday." I stated. "Naw. Not just that. He's been looking forward to you coming down here ALL summer. Hasn't stopped talking about it really." He said as I looked at him right in his eyes. "R-really?" I hesitantly asked. "Yeah. Your his favorite cousin after all. He mentioned to me, and me alone, how you were having problems at home and your school. He wants to try and make you happy. Every time he hears about how you got in trouble for something or when you were upset and needed to talk to him he'd feel horrible. He's not doing this out of pity or anything. Arch has a HUGE heart and loves to help people out. He cares for you more than anyone. Even more than Betty and Veronica. Even more than ME! His BEST friend in the WHOLE WORLD! He doesn't want this year to be rough on you, and frankly, neither do I. I know you've gotten into fights but I can tell you're a kind person like Archie is and most likely fought to defend yourself. I can tell." He said in a serious yet lax tone.

Before I could say anything a large plate of, I don't know like 20 burgers or so, came out. "Holler if you two need more." Pop's said as he walked away. We both shouted 'Thanks' as we began to eat. "So? You know about everything I told Archie? The fights, detention, bullies, getting in trouble a lot over nothing, all that?" I asked. "Yup." He said as he continued eating two burgers at once. "And 'Munch munch' you STILL want to be my friend?" I asked as I continued eating. "What's hard to understand? 'Munch' I mean 'Munch' you and Archie are the same. 'Munch' And I can tell 'Munch' from the way he talks about you 'Much' that your really nice and 'Munch' nothing like the other people you were around. 'Munch' Besides. 'Munch' I've learned not to judge someone too quickly." He explained while eating. "Another round Pops." He called as Pops came back with a whole new plate and took the empty one away. I smiled at him and a light blush crept up on my cheeks. * He's not like other guys.* I thought before Archie ran inside. "JUGHEAD!" he shouted as he ran over. "Hey Arch." He said while munching on another burger. "Jughead. Have you seen-" He started before I interrupted. "Hey Arch." He look at me and then sighed in relief. "Aria. Please don't do that. I didn't know where you were. You could've left a note." He said as I smacked my head. "I KNEW I forgot something!" I exclaimed as Archie saw the burger in my hand. "Hold on. When did you leave? And how are you paying for those?" He asked.

"First one: 7 AM. Second one: Ask him." I answered as I pointed to Jughead. "Meh. No big deal. 'Munch' We, literally, bumped into each other 'Munch' and we decided to wait here for you. 'Munch Munch' She got hungry 'Munch' and I was too 'Munch Munch' so we're eating together on my tab." He stated simply. "Jughead." Archie said shocked. "You NEVER do that. You don't always do that for ME!" He exclaimed as I stared at Jughead completely shocked. "Well she's new. You said I'd like her and I do. We're friends now. Plus I knew she didn't have money and I know if your up for it you'll owe me one." He stated as I blushed. * We're...Friends? He likes me?* I thought. "W-we're f-f-frie-ends?" I asked completely shocked. "Well yeah. Your like Archie but not Archie at the same time. And I like that. So yeah. We're friends." He said as if it were the simplest thing to say. I didn't know what to say so I continued eating my food. Archie sat down and ordered a burger for himself as he smiled at me. "See? I told you you would have at least one other friend other than me." He told me. "I should be mad at you for telling him about those emails. But I know why you did. I'm not mad but I wish you would've told me. At least Jughead doesn't judge me quickly." I told Archie as I finished my fill of burgers. 9 in total. "He told you? Well...um...I'm glad your not mad and I'm glad your friends." He said as his food came and we ate.

"Well mom and dad aren't expecting us back till later on so what do you want to do?" Archie asked as I thought about it. "Any monster movies playing?" I asked. "Yeah. Actually if we go to my house now then we can watch 'Frankenstein' and then 'Bride of Frankenstein' Right after words." Jughead claimed as we got up and stretched. "Well if your parents are ok with it then off we go." I said as we headed to Archie's car in the parking lot. We soon got to Jughead's house, a nice white little house, and went inside. "Mom and Dad aren't home right now but its ok. I'll get snacks and drinks. Aria what would you like?" He asked as Archie grew shocked. "What is there? Soda?" I asked. "I have coke, ginger ale, grape for Arch, and, my favorite, Orange." He said. "Your favorite is orange?" I asked. "Yup." He replied as I smiled. "Mine too." And he chuckled. "Alright. Orange it is." He said as he went into the kitchen and Archie and I went and sat on the couch. Before we knew it the table was filled with popcorn, gummy snacks, and some chocolates along with a few cans of soda. "There we go." He said as he sat in between me and Archie. I very lightly blushed as Jughead turned the TV on to 'Frankenstein' and handed me a soda. "Thanks." I mumbled as I took opened the can of soda and was soon watching the movie. After both movies were over Archie said we had to go so we said by to Jughead and left. When we got back home I was immediately bombarded by hugs, upon walking inside, by my aunt and uncle. They were happy to see me and I was happy to see them. They treated me nicely and showed me love right away and that made me happy. They Gave me a laptop and I was happy. They said I could use it to type weird mysteries with Archie and use it for school and stuff. It was just like Archie's too except his was red and mine was purple. We had a nice home cooked meal and they said I could decorate the room to my liking when I had money for it. They also said I'd have an allowance just like Archie. I smiled when I got ready for bed. * Today was a good day.* I thought to myself before I frowned. * How long will it last though?* I thought as I shook my head to be rid of those thoughts and went to bed.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: The Test!

* Aria's POV*

I started my morning heading down to Riverdale High. I was skating down there with an egg sandwich in my mouth and headphones on blasting 'Don't Stop Believing' by Journey at 7 AM. School was coming up in a week and I decided to have Dilton test me, and give it to Mr. Weatherbee, to see where I stand smart wise in this school. I always had a hard time in school because of the bullies and the fights and the teachers there call me 'Stupid' or 'An idiot' or something like that. I finished my food as I got up to the school. I didn't want Archie to wake up and bring me and I wanted to try to remember the fastest path here just in case. I stopped at the front steps, took of my skates and headphones, and started heading up to the science lab. * I hope Dilton doesn't mind this.* I thought as I continued through the halls until I arrived in the science area. When I walked in I noticed he was mixing a few components into a beaker. 'Knock Knock' I knocked gently as to not startle him like Archie did. "Huh?" He said as he looked up and saw me. "Hi." I spoke gently. He was silent for a moment before speaking. "Oh Aria. Salutations. What brings you here?" I walked in and looked at him nervously. "Well….Um...C-can you...Test me? I mean not me me but my intelligence? I need to know my level to see if I am going to be put behind or stay in the grade I'm suppose to be in." I told him nervously. "Of course. I can help you out." He said with a smile and put down whatever he was doing and had me sit at a station. I smiled as he handed me a few papers on different subjects and told me I had a 'Generous' 2 hours to answer as much as I could. "Begin" He said starting a timer as I began.

* Dilton's POV*

I was in the school lab working on mixing different chemicals together. I wanted to see the reaction and side effects of a few things. * I probably could've waited but I'm a bit curious.* I thought when I suddenly heard two soft knocks from the door. "Huh?" I said as I looked up and saw Aria standing half way inside with shy eyes as she gently said "Hi." to me. * What's Aria doing here? Wow! She looks beautiful!* I thought as I looked at her. She was wearing long, fingerless, black gloves that stopped at her elbows, long black boots that went to her knees, light blue shorts with rips everywhere, the style I presumed, a white spaghetti strap tank top, that stops barely above the top of the shorts, with the words 'Dernière Danse' in black with purple and blue sparkles on it, silver hoop earrings to match. She had her hair put up in a ponytail and held there with a black ribbon and she wore eye liner. Angel wing or butterfly wing style I think the girls called it. All in all she looked stunning. * Quit staring and talk to her!* I mentally scolded myself as I started to speak. "Oh Aria. Salutations. What brings you here?" I asked her as she slowly walked in and looked at me nervously. * Why is she nervous? I'm the one that should be in front of a beautiful girl.* I thought. "Well….Um...C-can you...Test me? I mean not me me but my intelligence? I need to know my level to see if I am going to be put behind or stay in the grade I'm suppose to be in." She asked nervously. * Ah! Thats why.* I thought as I smiled at her. "Of course. I can help you out." I said and put down what I was doing and had her sit at a station. She smiled as I handed her a few papers on different subjects and told her she had 2 hours to answer as much as I could. It was a longer amount of time than needed but I wanted her to relax and not be as nervous as she was. "Begin" I said starting a timer as she began.

She was in deep concentration every time I would glance over at her from my experiment. * She's beautiful.* I thought with a smile before I shook my head. * What am I _thinking_? She's Archie's cousin. She might not even like me that much. And if she does? A friend most likely. She's probably into bad boys or jocks. They all are.* I thought as I looked at her again. * So beautiful though.* I thought as I got back to the beakers in front of me. It had been approximately 93 minutes before she tapped me on the shoulder. "Dilton?" I heard as I jumped a bit. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you but I'm done." She told me as I smiled at her and stopped the timer. "Well then lets take a quick look ok?" I said in a question as she nodded nervously at me. I was looking at all the papers and was most amazed with the Math, Science, and History categories. Especially the science area. They were superb. * These scientific notes are just as amazing as mine. And the mathematics are PERFECT! Her history is almost as if she took it straight from the book.* I thought as I continued. Here English literary skills are nice. Her writing was smooth, perfect, flawless just like her skin. * Concentrate Dilton.* I mentally scolded as I continued. She seemed to not know much about Riverdale, which was no surprise, but the way she wrote things was almost poetically musical. Some vocabulary words were wrong here and there but other than that she _was_ intelligent. She didn't know Spanish nor French well but that could improve easily and the physical area I cannot test on paper but all in all she was very smart.

"Well." I started as she looked at me nervously and hopeful. * Her eyes are so beautiful when they sparkle with hope. GAH! ENOUGH!* I thought as I continued. "Over all your very smart Aria. Intelligent in fact. I believe you will do just fine in your junior year. Actually I can talk to Mr. Weatherbee about putting you in an advanced math course we have here. In other words, Aria, You'll be just fine." I said with a smile as she suddenly sprung out of her chair and hugged me. "Wah!" I yelped as we almost fell. "Thank you SO MUCH! I owe you BIG TIME! You don't know how happy I am to know I'm not an idiot!" She said as I pulled her back and looked at her. "Now why on earth would you think your an idiot?" I asked her as she suddenly went wide eyed and looked away. "N-no reason." She said nervously again. I was about to question it when she looked at me and smiled. "Thanks Dilton. I Need to let my aunt and uncle know about this. Oh! And Archie too! Thanks again Dilton." She said as she gave me another quick hug and was out the door before I could even tell her 'your welcome'. * I wonder why she would think that?* I thought before shrugging it off and grabbing her test papers before bringing them to the principles office.

* Aria's POV*

Once I was outside the school I tossed the skates on and started to roller skate back home to tell everyone about me being smart. * They were wrong! Everyone at home was wrong! I AM SMART!* I thought as I rounded the corner. "OH CHEESE!" I screamed as I skidded to a stop I managed to stopped a foot in front of Veronica. "hey.~" she said. "Veronica! I'm SO sorry! I didn't mean to nearly ram into you." I told her. She just looked at me with a mean look before it went to a questioned one. "What's the hurry?" She asked as I told her that you would be in the same grade level as all of them and how you were happy about that. "Well, even though thats no excuse to nearly knock me over, lets go to the mall and celebrate." She said. You thought about it. * Well Uncle Fred _DID_ start giving me an allowance and I _DO_ need to get some decorations for my room.* I pondered but then agreed.

We got in her car and went to the mall. I was glad we got there in one piece. Veronica was a crazy driver. She wanted to buy clothes but I asked her if we could go in a store 1st so I could grab some new sheets, blanket set, and a few posters for my room and, lucky me, she agreed. When we got to the mall I got to pick up a BEAUTIFUL comforter set that was black and purple and the sheets I got were purple as well. We went into another shop that was a mix of clothes, jewelry, statues, and other stuff. Veronica was looking at the jewelry while I walked around. I stopped when I saw this throw blanket. It had a raven on it and a ribbon that said 'nevermore' wrapping slightly around the raven. I ended up buying it and using up a lot of my allowance already * But it's worth it!* I thought as I held the bag close. We went to a couple more stores and then stopped for a bit. We were ready to start when we suddenly heard a voice. "Hey girls." I rolled my eyes as we saw Reggie waving right at us.

He came straight up to me and wrapped his arm around both of our shoulders. "And what brings you lovely ladies here without a gentleman to escort you?" He asked as I rolled my eyes again. "If we wanted a gentleman I'd let Veronica borrow Archie and I surely wouldn't ask you." I told him as Veronica giggled. "Aw come on Doll Face. What do you have against me?" He asked as I replied with "Well your egotistical, possibly primeval, your Neanderthal-ish, prideful, and if I can think of anything else I'll let you know." as Veronica and I left. Unfortunately he didn't leave us alone. "Wow! Thats rude. You won't give me a chance. It's rather annoying really." He said. "And following us around and being, the mean and rude you, stating the obvious is not?" I asked. Man I was on a roll. "Well; Maybe a little. But still, you should give me a chance. You'd actually fall for me then." He said as I rolled my eyes. "Yeah Reggie. I'd fall for you. Fall into a coma over how rude and selfish you are." I told him in a harsh tone. I just wanted him to leave me alone already. "Honestly Reggie. Don't you understand to leave us alone?" Veronica asked. "Whatever! Your loss ladies." Reggie said as he went to bother some other girls. "Finally." I mumble as we continued on.

We came across a different clothing store and I saw a dress I liked but tried to ignore it. Veronica, on the other hand, noticed me staring at it. "Go ahead and try it on." She edged me but I told her that not only I didn't have the money but I wasn't going to wear it often. After a few minutes she dropped it and bought A LOT of clothes. When we were finished with the mall I asked her for a ride home and she gladly gave me one. By the time I got back home it was 4pm. "Thanks again Veronica." I told her as she said it was no problem. When she drove off I saw Archie at the front door looking at me. I smiled and went up to him and told him what Dilton had said. "Thats great! Glad to see you won't be held back!" He exclaimed happily. We went inside and I told my aunt and uncle about how I was smart and able to stay at my grade level. They told me they were proud of me. I went upstairs and set up my small amount of things and then went down stairs to watch some TV. Once it was 6 o'clock we had dinner. I then went upstairs and got ready for bed.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Starting Riverdale High!

* Aria's POV*

I woke up to my alarm clock playing the song 'Here comes the sun' By the Beatles and decided to let the song continue. I know it's 5am but I wasn't sure when to wake up. I know school starts at 7am back home but I wasn't sure about here. I think it's the same. Either way I got up and stretched and slipped out of bed. I went over to my closet and looked over what I had. Today was day one of Riverdale High. I know for a fact that the 1st day of high school is judgment day basically. I wanted to look decent at least. * What am I going to wear?* I thought as I looked through my old and new outfits. I decided on my 'Old school rocker' look that I used to do. It was simple really. I wore my new shorts that were with the biker outfit along with the hat. Next I pulled out my one shoulder hanging off tee shirt that was black and featured the band 'Kiss' on it. Yes it did expose a bit of my belly but not a lot. I wore fish net leggings under my shorts that were red and had guitar designs on them. I grabbed my ankle boots and two black studded leather bands/bracelets. I grabbed a pair of silver stud earrings and my bra and panties as I turned my alarm off and made my way to the bathroom. I hopped in the shower and started singing softly again. I was randomly singing 'Danger zone' By Kenny Loggins as I got out of the shower and got dressed. I put my hair up and then my hat. I smiled at myself as I went back into my room and turned on my music quietly and pulled my make up and hand mirror out. Just as I did so I heard the shower running and movement on the stairs. Everyone was up now. I looked over and the clock read 5:50 AM. I smiled as I then proceeded to put on my make up. Once I was done I slipped my boots on and then grabbed my bag. Just as I walked out of my room I heard my aunt call me and Archie downstairs for breakfast. I got downstairs and began eating my scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast. I was half way done when Archie made it downstairs and began eating. "How did you sleep Aria?" I heard my aunt ask as I told her I slept comfortably. I finished my food and fixed my lip gloss as I waited for Archie to finish. Once he was done my uncle came down stairs and we hugged them and told them bye and that we loved them and quickly left out the door. We got in the car and started heading to school. It was 6:35 Am. "Oh man. School starts at 7." He told me as I rolled my eyes a bit at him.

We made it there 5 minutes before 7 and grabbed a parking spot. I hopped out of the car and immediately went to the principle's office to grab my schedule and a note to excuse my tardiness. I looked at my schedule. 1st was homeroom for 10 minutes, then it was English class for 50 minutes, then Chemistry for 50 minutes, History for another 50 minutes, after that was choir for 40 minutes, then gym class for 40 minutes and then 30 minute lunch, after that I had my advanced math class for 50 minutes, then a 20 minute free time, after that was 40 minutes of French class and then 40 minutes of art class. Man what a packed day. Oh well. I was already late when I knocked on the door to Homeroom with only 3 minutes left of it. The door opened to a woman, I believe her name was Miss Haggly, and handed her the note. At first she didn't seem to happy but she let me in never the less. I saw Archie and waved as I went up to him. "Hey Arch." I said. "Well? Lets see." He said as I showed him my schedule. "Well we're in almost all the same classes. Cool." Archie said as he handed me back my schedule. "Ok. Besides math which ones are we not in?" I asked him as he told me art, choir, French, free time and math. "Cool. Only five out of eleven. Thats not too bad." I told him with a smile on my face.

The bell rang and we went to English class with teacher named Mr McGee. I was quickly introduced to the class as I noticed a few boys were staring at me. One even whistled as I blushed softly. I sat down behind Archie and we immediately had to start out with picking a book to read the 1st two weeks. I walked up to the book choices and quickly found a classic I liked. Actually I was quite surprised it was in here. 'The Silence Of The Lambs' By Thomas Harris. I knew both this book and the movie. The book was _way_ scarier than the movie. I immediately grabbed it and walked back to my desk as I began reading the book. I knew this book very well so I can write the entire essay during my free time. I'm just reading it because not only do I like this book but I get 2 weeks to read it and freak myself out again. I already finished 3 pages by the time everyone picked a book and sat back down. I noticed Archie grabbed 'The Invisible Man' as I shook my head. "Archie." I said catching his attention. "Yeah?" He asked as he looked at me. "You do realize 'The Invisible Man' Has absolutely NOTHING to do with the movie right?" I asked him as his face suddenly fell. He smacked his head and groaned as I laughed quietly at his reaction. "I didn't know **that!** Now I really **do** have to read the book all the way through." He said as I laughed a bit more. "Sorry Archie." I told him as he groaned. English class went by rather quickly as I grabbed my stuff and followed Archie to Chemistry class. We got there before the teacher and saw Dilton in the back. I immediately ran up to him and greeted him. "Hey Dilton!" I said in a cheery voice. "Salutations Aria! I see we have the same class time together then." He told me as I nodded. "Yeah! It's nice to know people. I have 5 classes without Archie though but I think I can manage my way around the school." I told him. "Which ones?" He asked as I told him. "Well if it helps I, also, have Math and French with you." He told me as I smiled brightly. "That does help." I said as suddenly I felt an arm around my shoulder. "Hey there Doll face. Glad to see we have this class together." I told me as I shrugged his arm off of me. "Reggie I told you not to call me that! Also please stop putting your arm on me. I hate it when you do that just to flirt with me or pull me closer to you." I scolded him and even waved my finger in his face as Archie came right up to us. "Reggie leave her alone. She's not interested." He told him. Reggie just waved his hand nonchalantly at him and continued. "Oh please Archie. I know she'll fall for me and my charm. All girls do." I rolled my eyes at him just as a man, I presumed to be Professor Flutesnoot, Came in and told us we would be seated with whomever we were next to. I quickly moved away from Reggie and sat next to Dilton without even thinking. Yes I could've chose Archie but I wanted to get to know a bit more about his friends, except Reggie, and decided that Dilton could help me a bit more anyways. Reggie and Archie looked shocked, More so Reggie with a hint of hurt, as they soon realized they were next to each other and had to sit at a desk together, which was near the front, as Dilton and I sat all the way in the back. "Uh Aria? Why did you choose me over Archie? Reggie I understand." Dilton whispered as I whispered back "I need to get to know Archie's friend's more and I didn't want to be stuck with Reggie and I figured you wouldn't either so I left him for Archie to handle." and turned my attention back to the front just as Professor Flutesnoot asked me to stand up and go up to the front to be properly introduced. As I did I noticed a few new guys staring at me and Reggie whistled loudly making me blush again. "Mr Mantle, control your hormones." The professor said as the whole class laughed and Reggie pouted. After I was properly introduced I sat next to Dilton and we started class with a small chemical project and an assignment for the week that required a lab partner, which would be the person we were next to. "Hey Dilton, I'm sure your done with your half already but, could you please help me for a couple minutes? I don't know exactly what I'm doing." I asked him sweetly and looked at him as he looked at me and smiled. "Well sure. I can help you out." He told me as I smiled wider at him and we got started. I soon figured out what I was supposed to do and did the rest by myself with ease. I had a few minutes left of class so I managed to get a bit of my report done. "Hey Aria. If you need help finishing with your half of the project I wouldn't mind." He told me as I smiled at him. "I'll let you know if I get confused on something ok? I need to try this a bit on my own. Maybe you can proof read it and see if I did ok or not." I said as he nodded. "If thats what you want." He told me as I nodded a yes.

Class went by a bit to fast as Archie and I soon rushed off to history class. As soon as we got to class Archie immediately ditched me to go talk to Betty and Veronica, and take a seat between them, as I saw Jughead and decided to sit next to him. "Hey Jughead." I said as I sat down next to him. "Oh hey Aria." He replied casually. I looked up ahead at Archie, who was still flirting with Betty and Veronica, and glared at him a bit. "Let me guess; Arch ditched you to flirt with Betty and Ronnie again?" He asked as I nodded. "Don't take it personally Aria. He's been avoiding them to spend more time with you. He was bound to start up again." He explained as I sighed. "Yeah but I wish he would've _at least_ said something to me." I told him as I sighed again. "Well, think about it this way, at least _Reggie's_ not in this class." He said as I turned to him and smiled. "Thats a blessing." I said as we laughed a bit before an elder woman, who was Miss Grundy, came into the class and we all quited down when the bell rang. I was introduced, again, and the guys, whether they were new to meeting me or not, stared at me, again, and made me blush. I quickly sat down next to Jughead and, luckily, we all got to keep our seats. Again class went by quickly. I went to ask Jughead or Archie where the choir class was but they went on ahead of me. I sighed as I tried to ask for help.

"E-excuse me?" I whispered gently as I caught the attention of a tall girl in a pink dress, pink shoes, pink bow, with black hair and buck teeth. "Uhm. Do-do yo-ou kn-know whe-ere the-the choi-ir cl-class-s is?" I stuttered. She was freaking tall. "Yeah sure. I know where it is. I'm going past there anyways. My names Ethel by the way. Everyone calls me Big Ethel though." She told me and a low pitch nasal like voice as she smiled and held out her hand for me to shake. I gladly shook it. "You already know me as Aria Andrews. Archie's cousin." I told her as she nodded. "Oh yeah! Archie hasn't stopped talking about you all summer. It's nice to have you around Aria." She said as we headed down to the choir room. We got there and I thanked her again as she replied "It's no problem." and went off to her class. I walked in the class and knew no one there. I was shy enough as it was. Soon class started and the teacher started off. "Good day class. My name is Miss Holloway and welcome to choir class." She said in a British voice. She had us sit down and called us up one by one to sing a small part of a song to see what we could do. Most people sang something happy or sweet or lovey dovey. "Alright. Next is Aria Andrews." I stood up and walked up in front of her. I heard a couple flirty whistles that Miss Holloway didn't approve off. "Enough! No birds in my class unless they sing instead of whistle." She scolded as I blushed. She then turned to me. "Alright my dear. Sing a part of a song that you like. It can be anything of your choice." She told me. I tried to sing but nothing came out the 1st time. The 2nd time I squeaked and covered my mouth. I got a few laughs as the teacher looked at me. "Ms Andrews may I ask what is wrong?" She asked as I whispered "I'm not used to a crowd." And shuffled my feet. "I see. Stage fright it is. Well, this is not the 1st time I've seen this, but never the less you must try. Try to imagine someone is here with you. Someone you care for. Or perhaps imagine yourself in a peaceful place where you sing to yourself a lot." She told me as I took a few deep breaths and closed my eyes. I imagined the 1st time I did karaoke with Archie. Granted we were seven but it was fun. I thought about it for a moment. "Miss Holloway? Does the song have to be in English?" I asked her. "Of course not. In fact if you can sing in multi languages then that would be interesting indeed." She encouraged as I began part of a song. I chose 'Dernière Danse' by Indilia and began with the ending in a strong confident voice.

"Dans cette douce souffrance.  
Dont j'ai payé toutes les offenses  
Écoute comme mon cœur est immense  
Je suis une enfant du monde

Je remue le ciel le jour, la nuit  
Je danse avec le vent la pluie  
Un peu d'amour un brin de miel  
Et je danse, danse, danse, danse, danse, danse, danse  
Et dans le bruit, je cours et j'ai peur  
Est-ce mon tour?  
Vient la douleur.  
Dans tout Paris, je m'abandonne  
Et je m'envole, vole, vole, vole, vole, vole, vole"

Once I finished I sighed and looked around at the shocked faces and then at my teacher's shocked face. Was I really _that_ bad? "Was I really that bad?" I asked in a quiet voice. "Wonderful! How wonderful! You have a wonderful voice. And singing in French! Even better! How long have you been singing for?" She asked me with a small applause as I heard the rest of the class give small claps, whistles, whispers from the other kids. "Well…..Uhm…...I've been singing since I was 6. I've been interested in music for some time and hope maybe I can try to make a song or two of my own. I mean I like poetry too and different melodies I just like music and singing." I said as I shrugged nonchalantly. "Tell me; can you play any instruments?" She asked me. I thought about it. "Well I can play the keyboard and I used to play piano. Also used to play the flute and violin for at one point but had to stop. I know how to use the DJ record set as well but thats different I suppose." I told her as I stopped myself from rambling on about these things. "Well thats very impressive. Perhaps you could stay after school some time and we could work something out for the choir shows." She said as I blushed, shrugged, and sat back down in my seat.

I had a few guys, who were sitting around me, immediately start flirting with me. "Wow. Aria fits you nicely. So musical!" One boy said as another piped in. "What a voice! And Beauty to match it!" "Wow! Hard to believe your related to Archie Andrews." another boy piped in. "Wait! How _are_ you and Arch related?" Another boy soon asked as they all huddled close together. "I'm his cousin." I told them as they sighed. Before anything else happened the bell rang and I started to get ready to leave for my next class. "Allow me to escort you." One boy said as another soon piped in. "No. Let me bring you to class." "I'll show you to your next class _and_ carry your books!" Another boy said as I soon had 6 guys around me making me blush and feel embarrassed. "Well I have gym class right now and I don't remember where it is. Could someone take me? If it's not to much trouble?" I asked politely while still blushing softly as the boys nodded. "I'm heading that way now." one said. "Yeah I have that class too." Another said the others didn't have that class but they were close to the gym so they offered to take me there. I smiled and thanked them as they took me down that way. "So Aria. How old are you?" One boy who had black hair, green eyes named Geoff asked me. "Oh. Well I'm 15. I'll be 16 soon." I told him as I heard the boys sighing again. "Is the red your natural hair color?" An African American boy named Tyrone piped in. "Yes. It's natural. Archie and I are both part Scottish in our fathers' sides so by chances of DNA it's actually miraculous that we both turned out having red hair." I said as I stopped talking and went red. I learned in NYC that guys _**HATE**_ smart girls. "Wow. A voice, Beauty, **AND** Brains? What a Perfect combo. What else can you do?" The boy, Blond hair with brown eyes named Collins, mentioned earlier, but added the brains in, asked me making me blush softly. "You boys aren't intimidated my me being smart?" I asked awkwardly as they laughed lightly. "No. Why would we be?" An Asian boy, named Ronin, asked me. "Well. Back in the city guys usually hate smart girls." I flat out told them as they laughed again. "We don't judge here. Not at all. In fact a smart and beautiful girl is always the way to go." Ronin said again as I blushed more. "Which City are you from?" A black haired browned eyes pale boy, named Jimmy, Asked. "NYC." I told them. "Wow. Never would've guessed. You seem way to nice to be a city girl." A brown haired green eyed boy, named Tyler, Said to me. "Let's just say I'm as nice as Archie. Simple as that." I said as I saw Archie, Jughead, and Reggie at the front of the gym waiting for me. They soon spotted me and the 6 boys around me as we were soon next to them. "Well thank you boys for showing me the way to class. I'll see you four later." I said to Tyler, Jimmy, Collins, and Geoff as they waved goodbye calling me beautiful on the way out. I looked at Ronin and Tyrone and smiled at them. "I'll see you later in class?" I questioned. "Most definitely." Tyrone nodded "Of course." Ronin said as they went off to the boys changing room.

I turned to my cousin and his two friends as they looked at me funny. "They liked my singing in choir class. Guess I'm growing a fan base." I smiled as I walked passed them and went into the changing room where I ran into Betty and Veronica. I started changing into the school gym uniform as they asked me about my day so far. "Well I think I have a club of fan boys growing. For some reason the guys in the classes stare at me and some whistle. I had 6 boys in my choir class walk me here and two of them have this class with me. They were nice actually. Real sweet too. The other four had other classes to go to but since they were close by they were kind enough to bring me here and even offered to carry my books." I told them as I finished getting dressed and waited for them. "Wow. Sounds like your becoming popular already." Ronnie said as I shrugged. "I'm not sure why really. I'm not as beautiful as you two are." I told them truthfully as Betty chirped in. "Aw stop. Your beautiful in your own way." The two finished as the three of us walked out of the changing room and into the gymnasium. "Hey Aria." I heard as the three of us looked to our right and saw Tyrone and Ronin walking up to us and greeting me. "Oh hi boys." I said as they began talking sweetly to me. "Hey Betty? Veronica? I don't want to be rude or anything-" Before I finished they nodded and were soon running to Archie's arms and clinging on to him. My attention was brought back to the two boys next to me, one on each side, as we made our way to the group. "So Aria what made you leave the city for here." Tyrone asked as I got a bit nervous. "Oh. Well. You know. I wanted a change in scenery and I haven't seen Archie in about 9 years so It works out." I told them. "So your here alone?" He asked as I nodded. "Mom and dad didn't want to move but they agreed to this." I said. "So your living with Archie?" Ronin asked as I nodded. We were soon by the crowd and I caught Archie looking my way in a protective manner and Jughead seemed to look at me in a weird way. "Hey guys. Don't bother. Doll face here is mine." I heard Reggie say as he put his arm around me. Before anyone could blink I grabbed Reggie's arm and flipped him on his back, hard. "Reggie Mantel I warned you not to touch me. Plus It's Aria, NOT Doll face. And another thing, I am not yours, I told you when pigs fly and a volcano freezes then I'll date you but those things will never happen so drop it!" I said in a slightly raised voice with my hands on my hips and tapped my foot. Next thing I knew Tyrone and Ronin grabbed Reggie and tossed him onto the mats. "If the lady says leave her alone then leave her alone Reggie." Ronin said. "Yeah! And you shouldn't give her a nickname such as 'Doll face'. It's demeaning and disgraceful!" Tyrone said as they defended me. I was shocked that they did that but was glad at the same time. "You didn't need to do that to him but thank you." I told them as they went back to talking sweetly to me. "Do you know martial arts? Judging from that move you might." Ronin asked me. "Yeah. I took a few classes when I was younger and I'm glad I remember a few moves." I said as Tyrone laughed a bit. "Dang girl. Your a Dangerous Beauty." He exclaimed as I laughed a bit at that. "I've never been called a Dangerous Beauty before." I told them as we laughed a bit. Soon Gym class began and we got to go outside. We got to do a few things so I decided to run with Betty and Ronnie and Ronin and Tyrone started showing off by playing a bit of football. It was cute really.

Soon gym class was over and, after getting dressed in the locker room, started heading to lunch with Archie and Jughead. "Seems like you've caught some attention." Archie said with a small attitude. "Oh Archie relax. It's nice attention at least." Jughead said, with a hint of something I couldn't put my finger on, to Archie. "Yeah I guess. But still." Archie mumbled as soon Ronin and Tyrone caught up with me, along with the other four boys, and went to the cafeteria. I grabbed a simple roast beef wrap, no veggies, mayo, cheese, and a side of chips with a small carton of chocolate milk and, after paying for lunch, went to sit down and the boys soon joined me. "Not much of a veggie girl are you?" Jimmy asked as I shook my head no and replied "I really don't like most fruits and veggies. They don't settle well with me and they taste gross. I'll eat a burger over a salad any day." "Dang. Definitely not like most girls." Geoff said. They continued to flirt with me and, the other four found out about what I did to Reggie, agreed that I was a unique girl they would like to keep around for a while. The boys offered to buy me some dessert but I declined and told them that I really didn't deserve it. They just laughed and said if I ever wanted anything extra then I could just ask them anytime. Soon Lunch was over. I asked the boys where advanced Math class was and Geoff offered to take me there since he was closer that way then the others. I waved goodbye to the others as I followed Geoff to the math class. "Advanced math? Dang you must be really smart for that class." He told me as I nodded. "I love math class. You see we use math everyday whether we realize it or not. Like for example if we take a gum ball machine and, judging by the diameter, circumference, dimensions, and see how many gum balls we have on the outside we can estimate and calculate how many are inside. Not only that but if said gum ball machine were to be smashed then by seeing where all the gum balls have bounced, flung, and landed we can use mathematics to put every single gum ball back into the machine in the exact spot they were in, even the ones we couldn't see." I told him. Judging by the look on his face I lost him a bit. Ok maybe a lot. "You understood everything you just said?" He questioned as I blushed and nodded out of embarrassment. "Dude. Thats awesome. Your so smart. Your like the smartest and most beautiful singer here." He told me as I blushed harder and whispered "Thank you."

We rounded the corner and I saw Dilton waiting at the door for me. "Oh good. There's Dilton. He's going to take me to two of my other classes after this one. Thank you for taking me here Geoff." I told him as he smiled. "No problem. Maybe I'll see you later?" He questioned. "Maybe." I told him as I walked towards Dilton and waved goodbye to Geoff. I looked back towards Dilton, Who saw me wave bye to Geoff, and smiled. "Salutations Aria. Making friends already?" He asked. "Hi Dilton. I guess. It's more of a fan boy club. He's one of the 6 guys in my music class who likes me and flirts and is really nice to me." I replied as we soon made our way into Advance Math class. I didn't get to sit next to Dilton, Due to alphabetical order of last names, but it was no bother because Dilton and I answered most of the questions during math class and before I knew it class was over. Dilton and I met up after class and went straight to the library where he looked over what I had for science class. He pointed out a few things that needed to be corrected and I fixed them. Once free time was over we made our way to French class. "Hey Aria." I passed Jimmy as I waved hello to him. We made it to French class and, thankfully, I was next to Dilton. French class went by quickly, because we took a test to brush up on any French words we knew and stuff like that, and went outside of the classroom. "Hey Dilton. Do you know where Art class is?" I asked him as he nodded his head. "Actually here comes Big Ethel. She's probably got that class to. Hey Ethel. Do you have art class?" Dilton called her over and asked her. "Yeah. I can take Aria there." She replied. "Thanks Big Ethel. Thanks Dilton." I hugged him and followed Big Ethel to art class. "How do you like it here so far?" She asked as I smiled at her. "Everyone here is so nice. I really like it here." I told her as we made it to class. "Hey Aria!" I looked over and saw Jimmy, Collins and Tyler wave me over to them. "Wow! I see what you mean." I turned to her and smiled. "Thanks for taking me here." I told her as she replied "No problem." and waved me towards the boys. I smiled and waved bye to her as I went to the boys.

The teacher came in and she wanted us to pick a partner and try to sketch them out. Tyler, Collins and Jimmy were arguing who should draw me and I told all three to draw me and that I would draw all three of them together afterwards. And thats what happened. The teacher wasn't happy about that but it got them to stop bickering and do there work so she excused it. Once they were done I got to look at them before they gave them to the teacher. They were good. They each had a unique style to them. I pulled out a paper and got started. I got the three of them to pose like they were getting a photo taken. I finished the base quickly and started with the clothes, hair, and eyes. Once I got the bases of that down I got other details down like Collins' silver chain and Tyler's muscular exposed arms and Jimmy's extra sly grin. I soon put details in the hair and eyes, Wrinkles in the clothes, and shaded in the areas that were dark from the lighted opposite area and in a few other parts. There was 5 minutes left of class when I finally finished. "Ok boys. I'm finished." I said as they soon gathered around me and my picture as I saw them gasp and gawk. "Oh my!" "No way!" "Is that for real?" I heard all three say as they awed at my picture. To be honest it looked like I took a picture with a black and white camera. I even added the back round and detailed and shaded it in. "Do you _have_ to hand this in?" Tyler asked as I nodded. "It's ok. I can always do this again soon." I told them as they perked up. I took the picture and handed it into the teacher and was starting to go back when the teacher stopped me. "You did this by yourself?" She asked as I nodded. "Well it looks like your going to be my top student already. If you can keep those three calm and in order like that then I'd like to keep you partnered up with them more often. It be nice to see them pass this class full on instead of barely." She noted as I nodded. "No problem. They're really nice anyways." I said as I went back to my desk and gathered my stuff just in time for the bell to ring.

The boys offered to walk me outside and I accepted. We soon ran into Geoff, Tyrone, and Ronin half way out of the school. They walked me out, Sweet talked me, said kind things towards me, threw Reggie into the dumpster when he flirted with me again, and even escorted me to Archie's car as they each said there goodbyes to me and hoped to spend more time with me tomorrow. Archie made his way to his car once the boys left and brought me home. He told me he didn't like the boys flirting with me but I quickly pointed out Betty and Veronica and boy did that shut him up. Once we got home I finished my homework, watched a movie, had dinner and then washed my make up off as I got ready for bed. I had 7 boys flirting with me. Thats more than at my old school. By 7. Yeah no guys flirted with me unless they were trying to get into my pants, which was easy to tell, and I usually kicked there butts and got into trouble for it. Oh well. These boys were different though. I could tell. I decided to just go to sleep so that I could wake up in the morning bright and early. I slipped under the covers and went off into dreamland.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: My First Mystery!

* Aria's POV*

It has been two weeks and Archie did 2 mysteries without me, because they were dead ends and exaggerated stuff, and I got a head start in all my classes except my art, gym, and choir class. I was ahead in French but I still had to look up words, mainly for songs and song ideas, and kept everything in balance. It was easy with Betty and Dilton's help. Mostly Dilton's because Betty still tutored others. I just didn't want to feel like I was taking advantage of him. Maybe I can treat him to a burger sometime. Right now it's Friday and I was going to go with Archie to see Jughead today after school. I blushed softly at seeing Jughead today. I don't know why but him and Dilton are…...Different. I can't figure it out. Oh well. I tried not to ponder on it too much. After all, my 1st day at school getting flirted with, maybe that mild jealous tone I heard was because I made him feel like Archie does to him a lot when it came down to Betty and Veronica. I should try to spend time with him at school too. I got up, stretched, and decided to hop in the shower. It was only 6 AM And my aunt and uncle went out this morning to run a few errands and catch up with some friends so it was just me and Archie today. I grabbed my outfit I wore when I got tested by Dilton and headed for the bathroom. I had brought in my IPOD and a speaker to listen to my tunes in the shower, not to loudly of course, as I relieved my self, started the shower, and played 'I Was Made For Lovin' You' By KISS and hopped into the shower. I started singing and didn't fully realize how loud I was singing. By the time I was out and started drying off to dress myself I was starting to sing 'Hips Don't Lie' by Shakira. I had finished getting dressed, replayed the song, and started shaking my hips as I brushed my hair and tossed it up. I put on my Headphones, still singing loudly, and put on a touch of makeup and my earrings in as I danced out the door, put my pajamas in my room, and danced/sang my way down the stairs and to the fridge to heat up a hot pocket.

Once the song was ending I felt a tap on my shoulder. I jumped and shrieked as I turned around and had to stop myself from accidentally punching Archie. I put my headphones on my neck as I panted. "Cheese platters Arch. You trying to give me a heart attack?" I managed to pant out as I went back to grabbing my hot pocket from the freezer. "Sorry Aria. I didn't realize your headphones were on. Explains why you were sing and dancing down the stairs." He said as I froze and stared at him. "You saw that?" I asked in terror as he nodded. "Come on it's not that bad. Your waking up and goofing off. Besides you know your a good singer. I'm sure thats why you have a fan club already." Archie joked as I slapped him lightly. I went to the microwave and heated up my hot pocket and sat down at the table before pausing my music. "So when will you be ready?" I asked him. "Soon. I just wanted to grab food 1st before I grabbed a clean shirt from the laundry room." He told me. As soon as I heard the microwave bing Archie ran, stole my hot pocket, and made a run for it. My jaw dropped as I slowly realized what happened. "ARCHIE ANDREWS THAT WAS MY HOT POCKET!" I screamed as I heard him head for the stairs. I went to chase him but then figured it wasn't worth it. I decided to grab another one before I saw that there were no more. That was the last one. _Yeah_ I was gonna kill him. I went to the cabinet and decided on double chocolate pop tarts and a mini bag of BBQ chips as I grabbed a Coke from the fridge. Archie soon ran down stairs and saw me put the 'breakfast' in my bag with my laptop as I glared at him. "Why are you having that?" He asked innocently as I glared an ice storm his way. "You took my hot pocket. More specifically the _last_ hot pocket! Aunt Mary won't be back with more till later on today." I said still glaring a wizard of a blizzard at him. He chuckled and said "Sorry." As I rolled my eyes at him. "Buy me a burger or two from Pop's and we'll call it even." I told him as he nodded in agreement.

On the way there I had finished my pop tarts and my chips and was downing the last of my soda. "Honestly Aria. You need to eat better. Maybe you should eat a sa-" He started before I cut him off. "Don't say that word." "What? Salad?" He said before I started making gagging sounds. "I told you not to say that word. Remember? Ever since my mom went on that vegan diet when I was 10 I've hated veggies and nearly died of starvation from it." I reminded him as he rolled his eyes and continued driving.

* Time skip after school*

Archie, Jughead and I went to Jughead's house to decide what to do. Jughead sat in front of the TV and turned it on to a movie that was already half way done. "And now we return the monster movie marathon." We heard the TV announcer say as a movie came back on. "Honestly Jughead. Haven't you seen this one already?" Archie asked as eerie music started playing from the movie. "Of course I've seen this one. * Ohm. Munch* Everyones seen this one." He exclaimed while eating popcorn. Archie sat down next to him, and I sat next to Archie, as he started talking to Jughead again. "So _why_ are we watching it again?" He asked. That was a dumb question. "Archie, it's a classic." Jughead replied. "He's right on that one." I agreed as I reached out in front of Archie and grabbed a handful of popcorn to eat. Archie leaned back, crossed his arms, and began pouting. "A classic dud." He said before he rose from his seat and walked over to the glass door, which lead outside into the back, before continuing to speak. "Come on Jughead It's a great day outside. Let's bust out the bikes and go for a ride." He suggested. "Shh." I told him as I scooted closer to Jughead and snatched another handful of popcorn to eat. "Yeah Arch. Shh. Here comes the bit where she finds out her best friend is a mindless zombie." Jughead agreed and added as Archie slapped his forehead. "Sheesh I know how she feels." Archie added as I rolled my eyes. "Mary I think you should see this. Mary? Mary~!" The lady in the movie freaked as Jughead scrunched up and started shaking as I continued to watched un fazed by this. "Never mind. Come on Aria." Archie said but I waved him off. "You go ahead. I don't get to watch horror movies often. If Jughead doesn't mind me staying I'll catch up with you later." I told him as his jaw dropped. "Yeah. You can stay. You can crash for the night to if you want. It's a twelve hour marathon." He told me. "Hey Arch if I call Uncle Fred and ask him and he says yes can you bring me my clothes?" I asked him as the movie continued. "Really? Oh fine. If he says no though I'll get you." He said. "If it's not too dark out I'll skate home." I told him as he shook his head and walked away.

After two movies I asked Jughead if I could borrow the phone before another movie started and he said "Go for it." As I called Uncle Fred. "Hello?" I heard him on the other line. "Hi Uncle Fred. I'm at Jughead's and I was wondering if I could stay the night to finish watching this 12 hour horror movie marathon. I've finished all my work and I'm a week ahead on most of my school work and finished today's and tomorrows chores." I told him as I waited for his reply. "Well normally I'd say no but this _is_ Jughead so I suppose it's alright. But if you feel uncomfortable or there's an emergency you call me or Archie right away. Understand?" He asked me. "Understood. Thank you Uncle Fred. I'll call Archie and have him bring me some clothes for tomorrow. Thank you again Uncle Fred." I said over the phone as he chuckled lightly. "Not a problem Aria. I love you." He told me. "I love you too Uncle Fred." I said as I hung up the phone and called Archie. "Hey Arch. Uncle Fred said yes. Can you bring me a change of clothes please? Oh and some burgers from Pop's? You owe me and I have a $20 on my dresser you can use to buy some extras for me and Jughead." I told him as he replied with an "Ok." and then hung up. I grabbed a few cans of orange soda from the fridge and some candy from the cabinet before I, literally, darted and then hopped onto the couch next to Jughead and displayed the goodies in front of us just as another movie started. Once the movie was over the doorbell rang and Jughead got up to answer it. "Hey Aria. It's Archie." He said as I sprung to the front door. "Thanks Archie." I told him as I took my stuff and noticed my 'nevermore' throw was with my stuff. "I figured you'd want it." He said pointing to my throw as I nodded. "You sure you don't want to stay Arch?" Jughead asked as he shook his head no. "I've got a date tonight with Betty." He said as went 'oooooh' like in the TV shows when someone kisses someone. Archie rolled his eyes as Jughead laughed. "Well I guess I'll see you tomorrow." He said as he left.

I set my stuff next to the couch and pulled out the bag of burgers for Jughead and myself, letting him know it was my treat, as he prepared the sodas. I wasn't sure what time it was nor did I care. Once the movies were over the lady on the TV mentioned something about a contest and naming all the movies. As fast as lightning Jughead dialed and named the movies and won the contest. Once it was confirmed he won we decided to go to bed. Jughead offered me his bed but I told him the couch would be fine as I set up my throw, grabbed my PJ shorts and tank top, and went into the bathroom to change. Once I was done I saw Jughead set up some pillows for me as he waved and said goodnight before stumbling up to his room, Hot dog following him. "Goodnight. And thank you for letting me stay the night," I said as I barely heard him say no problem. I hopped on the couch and was out like a light.

* Time skip to 3pm next day*

Archie was driving Jughead and myself up to the Television station to pick up Jughead's prize. I had my headphones on, ignoring the conversation, while relaxing in the back seat as we pulled up to the station. The boys went in to collect the prize while I stayed in the car and relaxed. I started humming 'Jukebox Hero' by Foreigner when I felt them get into the car and the car moving again. I decided to pause my music and put my headphones around my neck and see what the prize was. "So Jughead? What was the prize?" I asked as he showed a decorated potato trophy. "This. A stupid potato." He said as I laughed so hard I fell back into my seat and had a few tears coming out of my eyes. "Laugh it up Aria. Laugh it up. It's a dumb prize." He mumbled as I tried to stop laughing. "Sorry Jughead. It's just too funny." I told him as he huffed a bit. We made it back to Jughead's house and went inside. We went into the living room, where I gathered my stuff, and saw Jughead put his 'Trophy' on the table next to the lamp. Once I got all my stuff up Jughead immediately turned on the TV for another movie marathon and sat down on the couch. "Jughead you can't just sit in front of that TV all your life." Archie said as I agreed with him. "He's right. I mean last night was one thing but I've noticed you've been in front of the TV everyday. If your not careful then it could affect your health and your school work." I told him. "Yeah. Big game tonight. Riverdale vs Springfield. What do you say?" Archie asked as I gave a questioning look to him. What kind of school holds a sports game on a Saturday? Then again it did rain Thursday and it was still muddy on Friday. Yeah it was early in the year for a game but Riverdale wanted revenge on Springfield from what I was told. I don't know. I'm not big on sports. Only reason why I'm going is to see Tyler, Geoff, Jimmy and Tyrone play. Ronin and Collins would sit at the stands and wait for me. It was better than sitting home alone thats for sure. "I say your blocking the view." I heard Jughead say as I snapped out of my thoughts and started heading for the car. "Whatever. Thanks for letting me stay here again Jughead." I told him. "No prob." He said as the boys continued.

I failed to notice the potato had started growing small green roots. By the time I put my stuff in the back seat Archie started making his way to the car. "No way of convincing him?" I asked as he shook his head. "Oh well. We're not his parents so we can't tell him how to run his life." I added as Archie sighed and agreed with me. "Let's hope he will be at Pop's tomorrow like he said." He told me as we got into the car and went on our way to the game. We had no idea of the danger Jughead would be in. After the game was over, Riverdale barely won, Archie and I went home to sleep.

* The next day*

Archie and I met Betty outside of Pop's to eat lunch. "I'm a little worried about Jughead." Batty said to us. "I'm a bit worried myself." I confessed. "Your telling me. He's turning into a couch potato." Archie said as Betty soon stopped him and pointed in a general direction. "That's not what I'm talking about." Betty added as I looked to where she was pointing and gasped. It was Jughead. He was standing in a flowerpot filled with dirt. He looked a bit pale and disorderly. He had dark circles under his eyes as well. I grew very concerned for Jughead right then and there. * Some thing's wrong with him.* I thought as I went over to him. "Uh Jughead?" I heard Archie say. "Jughead? Are you ok?" I asked him as he opened his eyes and looked around a bit. "It's nice to see you out of the house there buddy. But, uh, what's with the pot?" Archie said in a weirded out tone. "Dirt is good for you Arch. It's rich in nutrients that can be absorbed in the feet." Jughead said in a weird, monotone, hypnotic, almost zombie like voice as he stepped out of the pot. He then turned to me and gave me a creepy smile. "Care to try Aria?" He questioned me as I shuddered. * Some thing is _**definitely**_ wrong.* I thought as I shook my head a bit. "Um. No thanks Jughead. I'm not due for a while." I told him hoping it wouldn't upset him or set him off. "Suit yourself." He said as I sighed in relief. "I think your freaky friend has finally flipped." Veronica said in her usual 'I'm better than you' tone. "Say Arch you could make it one of your stories. The weird mystery of Jughead's bogus brain." Reggie said as I rolled my eyes. Jughead's health was more important than the mystery column right now. "Note the bags under his eyes. I theorize Jughead is suffering from sleep deprivation." Dilton said as I went into thought about it. It made sense. Jughead stays up really late a lot to watch those movie marathons plus school within itself. But, as smart as Dilton was, I had a feeling it was something else.

* Maybe Reggie's right about it being a Weird Mystery. Wait! Reggie! Right! Oh crackers now I'm loosing my mind.* I thought just as I heard a huge crash. I looked over to the table Reggie and Veronica were sitting at and saw Jughead holding fries and Reggie and Veronica covered in food. "This blouse came from Paris!" I heard her say as Dilton and Betty laughed. "The fries are good but not that good." Reggie said. "Oh I'd never eat french fried potatoes. No one ever should." Jughead said as he tossed the fries to the side. * Jughead? Not eat fries? Something is not right. I don't think thats the real Jughead. But then….Who or what is he?* I thought as he suddenly handed me a potato. "Keep an eye on my friend ok Aria?" He said as he handed everyone else a potato. "Uhm. Sure." I said as I tried to figure this out. I saw Jughead leave with the pot of dirt so I decided to sneak out and try to follow him.

* A few hours later.*

Following Jughead around wasn't easy at all. I had to make sure he didn't see me at all, almost got caught a few times, and all he did was hand out potatoes. Maybe I was wrong. I followed him to his house and decided to sneak in. I wasn't sure why I snuck in but I did. I heard the TV going and inwardly groaned. If he was sleep deprived then this was why. I sat the potato he gave me, yes I still had it and I wasn't sure why, down on the table near me as I peaked into the living room and saw him and hot dog sitting there watching TV. I went to go to him but then I saw him, another Jughead, stand in front of him. I silently gasped when I took a closer look at Jughead and hot dog on the couch. They were covered in green roots. I went to back up but then I heard a growl from behind me. I looked and saw hot dog, the fake one, growling at me as the fake Jughead soon appeared behind me and grabbed my arm. "Hey." I shouted and struggled. "You've seen to much. But don't worry, it's your turn now." He told me as he grabbed my potato and pulled me into the back room and to a closet where he tossed me, and the now sprouting potato, in. I heard Archie and Betty as I went to scream but the potato's roots wrapped around my mouth and a part of my arm. "Don't worry. Archie and Betty will soon join us." He said as he closed the door. I could hear muffled words as I moved around in the closet.

I ended up accidentally smashing the potato under my boot and that helped to get the roots off. "Archie! Betty! Help!" I screamed as I tried to open the door and couldn't. Suddenly the door flew open and I was grabbed and being dragged out of the closet and the house. I soon saw it was Archie and sighed as we got in his car and drove off. "Archie. Thank goodness." I said in relief. "What were you doing there Aria?" He asked me. "Well Jughead seemed too off and I felt like that wasn't the real him and I was right but was discovered soon after. Those potatoes are alive Archie." I told him as he nodded. "Yeah I know. They got Betty." He told me as I gasped. "What do we do?" I asked him. "We're going to Pop's. Hopefully we can find help." He told me as I nodded in agreement. "Archie. I'm a bit scared." I told him as he looked at me for a moment. "It's ok Aria. We'll figure this out and save them." He told me as I nodded. Now normally I don't get scarred but this was freaky enough to start to scare me a little. Soon we made it to Pop's as Arch and I hopped out of the car and ran into Pop's. "Listen everyone! We need to hide from the potatoes!" Archie started but when we were inside we soon found the horror that everyone in there was a zombified potato posed as a person. "Oh Archie-kins. You can't hide from the great potato." Fake Ronnie said. "Yeah. Weren't you listening to Jughead?" Fake Reggie asked. "Oh nuts." I mumbled as I grabbed Archie's wrist and made a run back to the car. We got in and started driving. "Not cool man." I mumbled trying to calm down a bit.

"The police. We've got to try the police." Archie said as I soon saw a shadow start to loom over us. I gasped as it put its hand on Archie's shoulder and spoke. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Archie got scarred and let go of the wheel. I tried to grab it but it was too late. We flew over the small hill and into some garbage cans. After a minute or so we were pulled out of our dazed state. The car wasn't too damaged and it seemed like no one was hurt. "Oh. Sorry about that. Are you ok?" I heard Dilton ask Archie. "Dilton?" I mumbled. I still couldn't see straight but I could hear just fine. "Aria? Are you ok? Can you see?" Dilton asked me. "I can't see well right now." I mumbled. "It's ok. Just don't sleep." He told me as he held my head up to look at my eyes. "Dilton. Is that you?" Archie asked. "Yes it is. I thought I was the last human left until I saw you and Aria run into Pop's. You should be fine shortly Aria." He told me as I started getting my vision back. "At least I'm starting to see." I told him. "Aria I'm so sorry." Archie started but I brushed him aside. "Wait. You said 'last human'. Does that mean everyone, including the cops, are potato people except us?" I asked. "Thats correct." Dilton said before I groaned. "Jughead said there was some 'Great potato' behind all of this." Archie mentioned. "Great potato?" I mumbled. "He must be behind the microwave transmissions I detected with my lab equipment." Dilton said as I finally got myself able to see again and pushed Dilton into the back seat. "Where? The TV station?" I asked as Dilton thought about it. "Possibly. How do you figure?" He asked. "This all started when Jughead won that potato trophy down at the station. The source _must_ be there." I noted. "Well then lets go." Archie said as he got the car out of the trash area and started heading down there. "If we can turn off the transmissions then all of this should stop. Right Dilton?" I questioned him. "Precisely." He stated.

We were on our way there not knowing that beforehand we were being watched and also not knowing the trap set for us. We arrived to the station. I kept a look out while Archie and Dilton went to the window to see if they could get in. "We need to go to the transmission tower." Archie told me as I nodded and followed suit. Dilton was talking to Archie about the control box when I backed up to them. "Guys. We got company." I told them as they turned and saw an army of potato people walking towards us. They were soon starting to surround us, each of them holding a potato, and inching closer by the second. "Dilton, Archie. Both of you get to the control box. Now. I can hold them off and smash a few but you need to go." I told them. "What?" Dilton said. "Are you crazy?" Archie asked. "Dilton can tell you how to stop it better than I can and your faster at running than I am Archie. I can hold them off for a little while." I stated as they got closer. "But-" Archie started before I cut him off. "GO! NOW!" I screamed as I charged at them and started throwing a few punches and smashed a few potatoes. I saw they made it to the ladder before I was grabbed by a few roots. Before I could get them off of me I blacked out. It was like being in the zone for a while. Next thing I knew I woke up and started pulling the roots off of me and saw that there were no more potato people. Only potatoes.

What happened next was unbelievable and I'm actually here seeing it. I saw a spaceship hovering over Archie and the microwave dish as the door opened up and revealed a giant, multi eyed, mutated, green rooted potato, The Great Potato no less, as it had a mean look in its eyes and grabbed the dish with its roots. "Archie!" I screamed in terror as all I could do was watch from my spot. It started bending and twisting the dish and tower as Archie held on for dear life. "Archie. Turn the machine on at full power." He said. "What?" Archie asked as I thought about it. I realized Dilton's plan soon enough. "Do it Arch! He'll be baked!" I told him as he then flipped the switch on and turned it up to full blast. Soon the great potato got baked and let go of the dish as he flew away on his ship. Once Archie got down Dilton explained how the microwave dish turned into a microwave as I ran up and hugged Archie. I soon hugged Dilton too. "Thank you Dilton for helping Archie!" I told him as I soon realized I was hugging him to tightly and let go while blushing softly. We got back into town and checked on everyone, Especially Jughead, and soon found that everyone was ok and everything was back to normal. We made it home and Archie and I traded notes on the mystery from both points of view.

"We don't know where the great potato went after that but we never saw him nor his kind ever again. As for Jughead; he still watched TV, but he does other things too. It's like I, Archie, Had told him before. 'Watching a little bit of TV is great but too much can turn a guy into a zombie'. And as I, Aria, am pointing out the nation's big produce suppliers one weird mystery that still remains as to why no one orders that many potatoes anymore in a little town called Riverdale!" Archie and I ended the article as we saved and got ready for bed. This was an interesting weekend. I hope more things like this happen. What can I say? I like Weird.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Fleas Release Me!

It's been about a 2 weeks since the potato mystery. Archie did most of the mysteries alone as I continued my school work. During those 2 weeks the boys were trying out for football, Reggie, Tyler, Geoff, Jimmy and Tyrone were already on the team while Ronin, Collins, Archie and Jughead were the ones trying out, and Betty and Veronica were holding cheer practice while I sat aside and watched. I wasn't much into sports but I decided to root for them and declined Betty and Veronica's cheerleader offer. In the end all the boys made it on the team, the 6 that flirted with me were to be extras mostly because of choir and somewhat poor grades last year, and I was happy. I had also met Midge and Moose. Moose was….slow; but they were super nice. There was also choir practice for a school concert, supposedly not coming up till Christmas time, and Veronica's Halloween party, that Arch says is held every year, coming up as well. Right now, since school started the last week of August, it was the end week of September. Not many leaves fell but the seasons were weird here. It mostly stayed spring and summer weather while fall and winter seemed to go by quickly. Right now I was out of school, also a bonus being Friday and all that, and was skating around the skate park listening to music. I was wearing my outfit I 1st wore when I arrived to Riverdale. The boys were at football practice, minus Archie and Jughead, so I decided to head off on my own. It was still quiet and secluded at the skate park so I decided to practice dancing on my skates a bit. I had 20 minutes before I decided to meet Archie and Jughead at Pop's. I breathed slowly as my music slowly began. Then I heard it. 'Crazy Train' by Ozzy Osbourne came on. I began to move my arms 1st. Soon when the beat was about to pick up I started skating; fast! I did twists, turns, spins, Grind on some poles and even spin jumped off at the end of a couple. When the music got to the end I spun 12 times and then posed, bending down on one knee while the right leg was stretched out and right hand on the ground in front of me while the left arm was stretched outwards to my side. It kind of made me look like a ninja. I waited a few seconds before I rose up and started disco dancing/skating around to 'Boogie Wonderland' by Earth, Wind, and Fire. It looked kinda cool really. Once the song ended and I struck a pose I waited for my last song to play. 'Into The Groove' by Madonna started and I was of again. I twisted my body and bent myself around and under bars and even jumped over them as I swung my hips around and started to loose myself completely. I jumped and spun four times before I landed and then glided on one foot for 5 seconds before I did a 180 and went backwards on two feet while shaking my hips slightly. When I got to the end I grabbed the near by grind bar and leaned my back against it and did a slightly dramatic pose as if I was being dipped during a waltz. My music stopped and I leaned my head back so my headphones could fall to my neck again as I tried to breath slowly.

I was startled when I heard clapping from a distance. I jumped and looked for the source when I saw Ronin clapping. "Your very good." He said as I went red and looked away from him. "How long where you there?" I asked, barely above a whisper, as he made his way over to me. "From the moment you spun and then posed like a ninja." He told me as I blushed harder. "You seem to have many talents." He said as he got real close to me and saw me blushing. "Hm? Whats wrong?" He asked as I looked at him. "I….well...uh." Was all I could say before he understood. "I'm sorry for scaring you and making you feel embarrassed. That was not my intention at all. I got done with practice early and was heading to Pop's. I thought this would be a nice short cut and didn't expect to see a wonderful show." He told me as I shook my head. "I was just goofing off. I hadn't practiced in a while and I _know_ I made a lot of mistakes. To be honest I thought I was alone." I told him as I adverted my eyes away from him. "Well, from what I saw, there were no mistakes. Plus if that was 'goofing off' then I'd like to see the professional side sometime. Either way the show was wonderful." he said as I blushed again. "Would you care to join me at Pop's?" He asked as I stopped, looked at him, and smiled. "Sure. I was going to meet Archie and Jughead there anyways. Archie said something about a weird mystery so I thought I'd help him out with this one." I told him as his smile widened. He held out his hand and I took it with mine as I skated slowly, while he walked, side by side on our way to Pop's. "You actually help Archie with his mysteries? And enjoy them?" He asked as I nodded. "Yeah. They seem far fetched but the potato one was definitely real. I don't help him often but I'm going to. It's a good bonding thing." I told him as he understood what I meant and nodded. "So. Are you enjoying Riverdale?" He asked as I nodded. "Yeah. I have more friends then I did at my last school. Plus I get to see Archie and it's so beautiful and peaceful here. I enjoy this small town a lot." I confessed as we soon arrived at Pop's. He opened the door for me as I smiled and went inside. "Thanks." I told him as we soon found Archie and Jughead near the back window booth with Reggie there as well.

As we got closer I saw Reggie put a napkin in Jughead's burger. Before I could stop him Jughead ate it and then spit it out on Archie as Reggie laughed. Archie started scolding him. "Reggie that wasn't nice. I saw what you did. One of these days these pranks will get you in trouble." I scolded an Ronin and I were right by the table now. "Aw come on Doll face; Jughead here has an Iron stomach." He said as I rolled my eyes. "She's right you know." Ronin started but Reggie just waved him off and replied with a "But out." That was very rude. "Whatever. Aria. Would you like a burger?" He asked as I nodded yes. Before he could do a thing Pop's came over. "Hey Aria. Care to try a titanic burger? 1st one's on the house. Oh here's one for your friend to." He said as I took the double extra large burger from him. "Thank you Pop's." I replied. "Yes thank you." Ronin said as Pop's gave him the second one before returning to the kitchen to continue working. Jughead scooted over, offering me a seat, I took it and Ronin managed to sit next to me as we ate and listened to Reggie pick on Archie about his Weird Mystery column. I hadn't payed much attention till I heard 'Werewolves' and thats when I perked up. "Werewolves?" I said after I barely swallowed a mouth full of burger. "Werewolves don't exist." Ronin said. "Neither should alien potatoes." I pointed out. "My police scanner said a store was robbed and the only thing taken last night was red meat." He said. * Interesting. Either vegans have struck or there really _**IS**_ a werewolf. * I thought as Reggie laughed. "Ha. Some guy has a barbecue and you think he's a werewolf. Good thing eggs weren't stolen of he'd blame the Easter bunny." Reggie said as him and a group of kids laughed. Ronin chuckled as I lightly elbowed him to make him stop. "Reggie knock it off. I believe it might have been a werewolf. Last night _was_ one of the three full moon phases. Plus there have been evidence in the past of giant wolf like creatures and we _are_ in one of the correct environments for one to live here so I believe in investigating it." I said as I finished my burger. "You believe me?" Archie said as I rolled his eyes. "Yes. Yes I do. I've studied vampires, werewolves, yeti's and a few other things so it's either a werewolf or a small group of vegans on strike and the vegans might have made themselves known so werewolf fits a bit better." I told him as I nudged Ronin so I could move. As he moved and I got up I continued. "Plus I can help look tonight. I'm sure it could be a few other things but if it _is_ a werewolf then we need to cover more ground and search. I can set up a few traps before dark." I told him as I got ready to leave. "Good idea." Archie said before Ronin stopped me. "Allow me to come along. I might not believe it's a 'werewolf' but it's better not to let a young lady be out on her own." He said as I smiled at him. "Great. I could use an extra pair of hands." I told him as I waved bye to Archie and Jughead, ignored Reggie, and continued out the door before Veronica entered.

Ronin and I went to get some rope, nets, some steaks and beef and managed to get two bear traps (Don't ask me how.) as we went to the woods outside of town. Ronin got his car, a 1980's black El Camino, and a mini grill saying we could have a couple burgers and the cooked meat might attract it, and went off to a secluded wooden area and began setting up some of the traps. Ronin set up the bear traps and warned me where they were as I set up some nets and rope traps and told Ronin where they were. Soon it was getting dark and we began cooking some burgers to eat. Once night fell we had on a few lights, put the grill away, and sat on a couple rocks and enjoyed the burgers. Before long it was getting close to 10pm and it was a bit eerie. Ronin and I were talking and right when he put his arm on my shoulder, I think he was 'making the move', we heard a small noise in the bush along with a whimper sound. "Sounds like an injured dog." Ronin said as I awed. I got up, holding a small bit of my burger in my hand, and went near the bush before he could stop me. "Poor thing must be lost and hungry. And if he is hurt then we should help." I said in a sweet voice as I bent down in front of the bush. I made kissing sounds and a few whistle noises and started talking to the dog. "Hey buddy. Come on out. I won't hurt you." I said as I put the burger in front of the bush. "You hungry?" I asked as I saw a nose and a snout poke out of the bush. It sniffed my burger before it licked and snatched it out of my hand. "Good boy. Well I hope your a boy. Come on out." I edged as it went back in. "Come on." I edged a bit more before Ronin spoke. "Maybe it'll come out later." He said as I replied with my hand still out "If he's hurt then he might not be able to mo-OW!" I screeched and looked to see a clawed furry hand grip me before we heard a growl.

I looked and saw a big wolf head with yellow eyes and dripping fangs stare and snarl at me. My eyes widened and pupils dilated. It was a werewolf. I fed a werewolf my burger and now he was gripping me and might kill me. The claws dug deep into my arm as Ronin started running to me. Before the beast could bite me Ronin kicked it in the face as it fell and let me go. Ronin grabbed me and we started running to the car. I was still dazed. Before we made it to the car the beast jumped and landed in front of us and swiped, barely missing us, as I snapped out of my daze and we ran. We had accidentally spit up and I ran from the howl of the beast. I needed to find Ronin before he got hurt. Before I knew what happened I stepped in the bear trap and fell down in pain. I turned and saw nothing there and that I was stuck. I shrieked a bit from the pain as I tried to pull it open. It was hard to and it hurt. I ended up loosing my grip and it snapped on my ankle again. "OW!" I shrieked again as I heard Ronin calling me. "RONIN! I'M IN A BEAR TRAP!" I hollered as he quickly came into view and tried to pull it open. As he was starting to I saw a shadow right behind him. "LOOK OUT!" I screamed as I slipped my ankle out, barely, and flipped him over me before I felt a sharp pain going from my left elbow to my shoulder. I knew he clawed me as I felt the blood trickle down. "ARG!" I cringed loudly and started falling before I felt a pair of arms pick me up bridal style and started running to the direction of the car. He opened the passenger side and got me inside before he closed the door and ran to his side, got in, started the car and drove off quickly.

We were now almost in town as he had his jersey jacket on my arm for me to hold to stop the bleeding. "That was a werewolf! A _real_ werewolf! And I fed it! Oh fudge bars!" Was all I could really mutter out. "I was wrong. They exist! I never should've brought you out here. I thought it was fake. I'm so sorry Aria. You almost got killed. I'm taking you to the hospital to have you stitched up. I'll call Archie when we get there." He said as we soon made it to the hospital. Once we got there I was taken into urgent care and stitched up. Ronin called Archie as soon Archie burst into my hospital room. "ARIA!" he shouted as I looked at him. I was drugged up on morphine to delude the pain. I was trying not to cry but I could tell that my eyes screamed fear. The doctor said thanks to my boot my ankle wasn't too bad. Archie ran up to me as Ronin slowly made his way in with a doctor. "Are you alright?" He asked as I nodded. I was still holding Ronin's, now bloody, Jersey jacket close to me. "Mister Andrews. Ronin and Aria claimed to be attacked by a wild animal and that she got stuck in a bear trap. Other then some stitches she should be fine. We found hair in her wound and were looking into it now. She wasn't bit so no rabies shot is required. She'll be able to walk again in a week since it wasn't that bad. She's free to go home tonight if she wants. She's lucky this young man was there to help her otherwise she would have ended up worse or dead." The doctor said, motioning to Ronin, as he then left. "What happened?" He asked Ronin with an attitude. "We were attacked." I said barely above a whisper as Archie turned to look at me. "It was a werewolf Arch. We heard whimpering in the bushes and I thought it was an injured dog and...and." I said before I started crying from the fear. Archie came over and hugged me. "Ronin saved me….Twice. Three times if you count the hospital trip." I said through tears. A group of thugs I was tough as nails but a werewolf attack was a breaking point I guess. "I never should've let her go out there in the 1st place. I'm truly sorry Archie. I meant no harm." Ronin said as Archie looked at him. "You helped her instead of abandoning her. I'm glad about that. Besides; Aria would've gone out there on her own anyways. I'm just glad you were there to help." He admitted as I looked at Ronin. "Thank you." I said with a gentle smile. "You saved me too. You got your arm clawed because you moved me away from that attack. I didn't even hear him. I should be thanking you." He said with a smile.

Archie and Ronin left the room as a nurse came in and helped dress me. She gave me a crutch to use and Arch and Ronin helped me to Archie's car. "I'm sorry about your Jersey Ronin. I'll clean it up. And I'm also sorry about the blood in the car. I'll clean it up too if you want." I told him as he shook his head. "Don't worry about that. I'll clean up my car and my Jersey. You worry about getting better." He said as he went to take the jersey from me but held it closer and leaned away from him. "Let me clean it please? I insist." I said as he sighed and agreed. The two helped me into the car as we said our goodbyes. Archie hopped in the car and drove us home. Explaining this to my aunt and uncle would be difficult. Archie said he'd take care of that for me and I thanked him. I had 54 stitches on my left arm, 9 stitches on my ankle and none on my right wrist area. I've never had that many stitches before. We made it back home and Uncle Fred freaked out on Archie about not keeping an eye on me while Aunt Mary kept hugging me and checking me for other injuries. Before Uncle Fred could ground Archie I told him this wasn't his fault and even if he was with me that the wolf, didn't mention the were part and won't till after the mystery, would've attacked either way he finally caved in. I was recovering over the weekend and by Monday they wanted me to stay home and rest but I insisted on school. I couldn't stand bed rest for too long. Plus I cleaned Ronin's jersey and needed to return it to him. Archie mentioned that Reggie pulled a werewolf prank on him, Betty and Ronnie and thought he went to far with me but I told him that that was too real. I figured he would still hold Reggie responsible until the real werewolf was found. Oh well; Reggie deserves it.

I was waiting in the car with my school stuff and a note from the hospital saying no gym for a few weeks, ok for me, as adjusted the crutch a bit. I was wearing my biker shorts with a purple tank top and white sneakers, because of my ankle, and no gloves because of the stitches and bandages. I did my eye make up, the usual half wing eye liner look, and black studded earrings and a black choker. I saw Archie lock up as he got in the car and we were on our way to school. "You really shouldn't be out and about. You do need rest." He told me as I shook my head. "Archie I can't. I'm not that hurt. I'll be ok. If it gets too much then I won't go tomorrow. Besides your going to need help catching that beast and I have a score to settle." I said as I punched my fist into my hand. "No Aria. Your hurt. I'm not letting you get hurt." He told me. "Archie I need to-" I started before he cut me off. "No. End of discussion." He told me as I leaned back into my seat and pouted the rest of the way. When we parked Archie helped me out of the car. "I can manage." I said in a humble way but he still insisted on helping me. We were walking to the school doors and I heard some kids laughing at Archie and making wolf comments until they saw me and stopped laughing immediately. "I look like crap, huh Arch?" I asked him. "No. Just beat up." He said in an awkward way as he rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah. I look like crap." I mumbled as Jughead came up to us. "Hey Arch. Hey Ar-OH MY GOD! Aria what happened?" He asked as I shook my head and sighed. "I got attacked by a werewolf." I told him as Archie scoffed. "I still think it was Reggie going to far." He mumbled as Jughead looked at me. "You ok? Need help?" he asked as I shook my head. "I'm ok. I just need to go see Mr Weatherbee to get a pass for the day." I told him as soon the 3 of us started walking. As we were walking people started making jokes but then stopped and gasped when they noticed me. "I swear if another person cracks a joke, I'm going straight to Principal Weatherbee." Archie said before he bumped into the principal and fell down. "Oh sorry Mr Andrews. By the way, Whats this about taking Miss Cooper and Miss lodge to a 'dog show'? * Chuckles*" He said. "Hehehe. Good one sir." He said as he got up. Principal Weatherbee finally noticed me and gasped in horror. "Miss Andrews what happened?" He asked me. "The 'dog show' I saw was disastrous." I said, while using his joke on him, and handed him the note. "I need to either be excused from classes early or a pass to be ok being late." I told him as he looked at my note from the doctor. "Of course Miss Andrews. If you care to follow me I'll give you a pass until you recover and I'll let the gym teacher know of you injuries." He told me as I nodded and followed him. I made it to homeroom, on time, as I heard gasps and whispers. I ignored them and let Archie help me to my desk.

Once homeroom was done I, as fast as I could, hurried to my classes. Once I hit choir class I felt pain. I didn't want to take my pain killers cause they made everything wibble wobbly so I settled with Tylenol instead. I was late to class. "Miss Andrews care to explain why you are tar-Oh my word!" She said as she looked up from the papers she was looking at and saw my injured state as I showed her the pass and sat in the comfy seat. "* Clears throat* Alright then class. Lets see where I put my music sheets and the we may start." She said as I relaxed in my seat. Soon the boys came up and checked on me. "Ronin told us what happened. Are you alright?" Geoff asked as I nodded. "Yeah. Just hurts a bit. If I take my pain meds then I can't concentrate. I'll be alright though." I said with a weak smile. "Alright class. Let's begin." She said as the sheets were handed out. After Choir the boys helped me out to gym class, since the teacher let us all out a couple minutes early, as I dug in my bag for the jersey. "Ronin? Here." I said as I pulled the jersey out and handed it to him. "I said I would clean it and I kept my word." I said as I smiled at him. "As I said, you did not have to. But thank you." He said as he took back his jersey. We were all talking and when we arrived at the gym I went straight inside and sat down on the bleachers and waited for everyone else. When gym class started Ronin and Tyrone kept me company for a bit and Archie and Jughead kept Reggie away from me claiming that he caused my injuries. Ronin kept apologizing and I finally told him to stop. After class Ronin and Tyler helped me to the cafeteria, where the other boys were waiting, and sat me down as they brought me lunch and helped take care of me. Archie, Betty and Veronica checked up on me and Archie even said he didn't like this but I brushed him off. Betty thought this was nice and Ronnie got a bit Jealous over this but thought it was cool. The rest of the classes went by smoothly up till art class. Tyler, Collins, and Jimmy partnered up with me again, even though it was a free day, and asked me to draw them again. I did and I was glad my wrist wasn't in too much pain from all the writing. I drew one copy when class ended I told them I'd take this copy home and draw two more to finish. They gladly agreed to that. We met up with the others and when they saw the picture I drew they wanted them done as well so I told them I would another day. We got to Archie's car, where he and Jughead were, and I said my goodbyes as they helped me into the car and drove off.

Archie wanted to drop me off at home but I _really_ wanted to go to Pop's and after 10 minutes of fighting, and me giving my puppy pout, he caved, hard, and took me with them to Pop's. When we got there we saw a cop talking to Reggie about his prank and that how some pets and an innocent girl were harmed. I knew he was talking about me. I looked at Reggie and saw that he looked frightened. * He didn't do those things.* I thought as we went over to them. "Huh? But-but I only scarred Archie last night." He said as he then noticed us. "Archie! Old buddy old pal. Tell him I was with you at 9. Tell him!" He said in a panic. I looked over and saw Archie give a sly smile. * Oh no!* I thought. "Yeah Sheriff, Reggie was annoying me at 9 o'clock sharp." He started as Reggie sighed. "But all I know after that was at 10 o'clock he hurt and scarred my cousin Aria and left her in stitches and tears." He said as Reggie gasped and dropped his gloves and mask before he finally got a look at me. He was frozen. "Is that true young lady?" The Sheriff asked me as Reggie snapped out of it. "What? I might be upset that she wouldn't date me but I would _Never_ hurt her. Aria tell him. Please!" He begged as I looked from him to the Sheriff and back. "I believe Reggie." I said as everyone gasped. "I know it wasn't Reggie who attacked me and Ronin that night and I believe him when he said he didn't do those things. I can't alibi for him but I can say it wasn't him who attacked me." I said as I went over to Reggie and put a hand on his shoulder. "He might be mean, rude, and an idiot." I started as he cut in with a "Hey." and I continued. "But Reggie isn't _that_ mean nor petty of a person. He looks genuinely scarred and that, alone, tells me he's telling the truth." I'm not that vengeful of a person and even so Reggie was facing serious crimes and needed help. "Well I still have to take him in without a proper alibi. Thank you for telling me this Miss. We'll find out who attacked you and stop him." The Sheriff said as he grabbed Reggie's arm and led him away. "Why did you defend him?" Archie asked as I looked at him. "He might be mean but he's not violent. Plus I know what attacked me and nothing you can say or do can change my mind. Reggie could go to jail Archie. For **life!** And I don't want either of us to be the reason why his life is ruined over a stupid prank." I said as I went to a table to order food. Soon Archie and Jughead sat down with me. "I'm sorry Aria. Jughead reminded me that there might _really_ be a werewolf since Reggie might not have done those things." He said in a small amount of shame as I smiled at him, Jughead sitting next to me carefully, as I spoke. "It's ok Arch. I know why you did that. I understand how protective you are. Never the less you should talk to a werewolf expert who isn't me. All I know is you need a full moon, not every time but sometimes, a wolf bite for sure, and a pentagram." I said with a smile. "Oh! And silver harms them and _might_ stop them from transforming if they wear it." I added in as Archie smiled at me.

Once we finished eating they took me home as they went to find this 'expert' and see what they could find out. After watching a couple Disney movies I had decided to shower and get ready for bed. Uncle Fred and Aunt Mary weren't here so I had the whole place to myself. I had taken my pain meds and decided to shower when I got light headed and slipped. I landed on my stitched arm and the shower curtain and rod fell on me. I was having a hard time getting up. These pain meds kicked my butt, hard. After a 10 minutes I heard someone call my name. I heard a knock on the bathroom door. "Aria?" I heard and heard another voice. "Archie? Is that Betty? I fell in the shower." I said as I heard the door open. "It's me." I heard Betty say as she got the rod off me, turned the water off, and wrapped a towel around me before sitting me on the closed lid toilet. She grabbed another towel and helped dried me while checking my stitches. Once we knew they didn't pop she helped me into m pajamas and then helped me to my room with Archie following close behind. "Thanks Betty. I slipped on some soap. My pain medication is making me even more drowsy than I thought." I told her as she noticed I was starting to nod in and out. "It's ok. Let's just get you to bed." She said as she helped me lay down on my bed before she covered me up. "You were right Aria. There really _is_ a werewolf." Was all I heard Archie say before I fell asleep.

* Archie's POV*

"Thanks for helping her Betty." I said as I looked at Aria sleeping. I felt horrible. I shouldn't have let her go out. "It's ok Archie. I don't mind helping. And don't blame yourself. You had no idea at all. At least Ronin saved her." She said as I sighed. "I guess your right." I told her. "Besides, if she's going to help out with your mysteries then a few more might be dangerous. She's tough though. From what Ronin said she kicked it and fought back. She can handle a lot." She reminded me as I sighed. "I just wish I could protect her." I confessed as Betty looked at me. "I know Archie. That's why I care about you. Your kind, sweet, and protective. But so is she and she can fight. You can't protect her all the time but you can at least be there for her." She said as I nodded. We left Aria to sleep and I took Betty home, right next door, and then went back inside to sleep.

* Aria's POV*

The next day I was eating lunch with Archie and Jughead instead of the boys, claiming that we have a weird mystery to type and solve, as Archie started typing. "Well it's not you. It's not Ronin and it's _definitely_ not Aria." Jughead said as he ate a candy bar. "And it's not you, Jughead, though you _do_ wolf your food down." Archie said as I giggled a bit at that. "* Ohm* I'm a growing boy." Was he said before finishing his candy bar. "Could it be Principal Weatherbee?" Archie questioned as we imagined him as a droopy dog. "Nah." Archie replied to himself while shaking his head. "How about Pop Tate?" Jughead asked as we then imagined a pointy eared bull dog. "Negative." Archie said as he shook his head again. "Maybe Moose Mason?" Archie asked as I laughed at the image of Moose turning into a moose. "Naw too big." Archie said while he leaned on his fists and shook his head in a light no manner. "It's gotta be someone else." Was Archie's next sentence as I noticed Jughead look at a pissed Reggie. * Why is his jersey sleeve ripped?* I thought to myself. "Thanks for leaving me out to dry yesterday Andrews. The sheriff didn't let me go till dinner time. At least Aria stood up for me." Reggie scolded as he motioned towards me and then continued to scowl at Archie. I looked over and saw Archie give a look. * Oh no. He's going to blame him isn't he?* I thought as Archie hummed in thought for a few seconds. "You mean you were free last night? How about Reggie?" Archie asked us. * Yup. Called it.* I thought. "Right size, Right build, right jacket." Jughead said "What are you babbling on about?" Reggie asked as I stepped in. "Everyone on the team has one though." But I was ignored as Archie pulled Reggie right next to him and continued. "Reg. You might be the werewolf." He said as I rolled my eyes. Reggie got up. "Uh-huh. Right. Change your name to Jim Carry and make me laugh." He said as I laughed lightly at that joke. That caught Reggie's attention for a bit before Archie grabbed him again and yanked him back down. "This is no prank." He said as he pointed to the rip and continued to talk. "How'd your jacket get ripped up?" He looked down and noticed it and lightly scratched the back of his head. "I, um, don't know. I went to bed early with a headache and when I woke up it was on the front porch and ripped." He confessed truthfully. How weird. * I still don't think he's the werewolf.* I thought to myself. "Don't you see? When the moon rose you blacked out and turned into a werewolf." Archie said as Reggie gave him a skeptical look. "The same werewolf who attacked us in that same jacket. And the same one who hurt Aria." Jughead angrily pointed out. I wonder why this hit him hard. I mean I know we're friends but it seems….different. Oh well. I'll figure that out later. "I attacked you?" He questioned before he smiled widely. "Cool!" He added as I sighed and smacked my forehead. "Not cool. You almost hurt Betty and Veronica. Not to mention you already hurt Aria a few nights ago." Archie pointed out as Reggie then looked sad and hurt. "Woah. If I hurt them they'd never speak to me again. And I hurt Aria. I never wanted to hurt you. I'm so sorry. Can you forgive me?" He asked me. "Reggie I don't think your the werewolf but if you are then I forgive you. You didn't mean to." I told him as he sighed a sigh of relief. "Still, your a menace Mantel!" Jughead said in a mean way as Reggie then hung his head before resting it in his hands and let his fingers run through his hair. "Oh brother. You might be right." He said as he then turned to Archie and grabbed him. "Archie what should I do?" He asked all scarred now. "I have an idea." I said as they looked at me. "How about we lock him up? Maybe the sheriff can hold him for the night to see if he's the werewolf or not. I still doubt he is but just in case." I said as Reggie smiled at me. "Aria I could kiss you. Your a Genius. I'll do it. For you." He said as I rolled my eyes.

After school we went down to see the sheriff and explained the situation to him. Soon we closed the cell door on Reggie as he smiled and sighed when the sheriff locked it. "Thanks sheriff. I feel safer already." He said as the sheriff looked at all of us. "Ok. But I hope this isn't one of your high school pranks." He said to us. "It's just for tonight sir. And if Reggie _does_ turn into a monster at least everyone will be safe." Archie said. "And if he doesn't, everyone will _still_ be safe." Jughead pointed out as I softly giggled. "Well don't worry, I'll keep an eye on him. Maybe we'll solve this case after all." The sheriff, in a slightly stern voice, told us. Archie then turned to Reggie. "Don't worry Reg. If you are a wolf, we'll see that you get professional help. In the mean time can I get you anything? A face comb? A flea collar?" He asked in a joking way as Reggie snarled and then tried to reach through the cage to grab Archie but was not fast enough because Arch moved back just in time. I turned and looked at Archie. "I'm going to stay here with him. If he is a wolf I want to see the transformation and document it for the article. If he's not one then I can document it as well." I told them as Archie agreed to it. I went over by the bench, across from the sheriff's desk, and sat down while pulling out some of my homework to do and decided to help Reggie out with his. When they left it was boring. The sun was setting and I was bored and I could tell Reggie was too. Once the moon was out was when I really paid attention. I noticed the sheriff playing with his bandages. "Looks nasty. Cut yourself?" Reggie asked. "No. Old man Channy's dog bit me after it got loose last week. Well he calls it a dog but we all know it's a wolf." He said as that peaked my curiosity a bit. * A wolf? Wait. A wolf bite is one of three things. And he has a pentagram? His badge! A five pointed star! Reggie has neither! Then that means….uh oh!* I thought.

"Oh by the way Reggie. You left your jacket here last night. I went to return it to you." He said as Reggie looked up. "You mean I _**didn't**_ have my jacket last night?" Reggie asked. "Sheriff! I know who the beast is!" I bolted up quickly as he looked at me. "It's you! You have a pentagram and were bit by a wolf! Your the werewolf. You black out." I told him. "Thats ridiculous I could never...could never...oh." He said as he then started sweating. His bandaged arm then turned into a wolf arm. "What's wrong Sheriff?" Reggie asked as he got close to the door. I grabbed my cane to use as a weapon and started making my way to the corner to be hidden and protected. "Reggie! He's the beast." Was all I had time to say before he started growing fur, then a snout, then claws and fangs along with yellow glowing eyes before he fully morphed into a werewolf. Then he howled a horrific howl. Reggie soon started screaming and then yelling for help before the beast lunged at his cell and tried to get him through the bars as Reggie backed up as far away from the door as he could. "N-n-n-nice doggie. Y-you don't want to eat me. I'm spoiled." Reggie said as the beast tried to rip the barred door open. It looked like he might succeed.

"Hey Sheriff!" I hollered. Soon the beast turned and saw me. "Remember me?" I asked in a taunting way as I readied my metal cane for battle. He snarled and fully turned to face me. "No Aria! Your hurt!" I heard Reggie cower a bit. "Exactly!" I said as the beast slowly made his way to me. I didn't move at all. Once he was almost half way to me he decided to run at me. I swung my cane and missed the 1st time before I swung again and hit him in the arm. I went for a 3rd swing before he grabbed the cane. I gasped as he used it to throw me at the desk. I had lost grip of the cane and it was flung somewhere else. I started getting up when I saw the beast hover over me. I tensed up as I screamed and waited for the claws to swipe me. They never came. I opened my eyes and saw Archie, on the beast's back, trying to hook the silver chain to his neck. "Archie!" I screamed in surprise as he was then flung off. The beast looked at me again and before he could attack me he started choking on the chain before he reverted back to his human form. "Archie. You did it! You broke the curse!" Jughead said as Archie went up to the Sheriff. "You ok sheriff?" Archie asked as the sheriff rubbed his head. He stopped and looked at Archie. "Is it true? Am I really a-a werewolf?" He asked in disbelief. "Yes sir. But don't worry. I believe that as long as you wear silver, you won't change back." He said as the sheriff held the ring on the chain and smiled as he shook his hand. "Then I'll _never_ take it off." He said with a smile. "Can I have some help please?" I asked as Jughead rushed over, with my cane, and helped me up. "I'm very sorry I attacked you Miss Andrews. I-" He started before I cut him off. "It's alright. You weren't in control. I forgive you." I said with a smile. We released Reggie from the cell, who promised not to make up stories anymore, and we all went home.

The next day after school we were at Pop's and, as I sat at a booth with the boys and told them what happened, I tuned out Reggie's made up side of the story. I saw Archie leave with Betty and Veronica and smiled. They boys told me how brave I was but I told them that I was, indeed, scarred but did what I did to save a life. Even if that life was Reggie. I was soon brought home and later that night Archie and I did our article together. "To this day people still think that the 'Werewolf scare' was one of Reggie's practical jokes. And to this day they still think Aria's injuries came from a wild wolf.~Archie. But as Reggie learned, hopefully I, Aria, thinks he did unlike Archie, practical jokes can be risky things. And can sometimes, even, hurt people.~Aria. Fortunately Werewolf problems are a thing of the past….In a little town called Riverdale.~Archie and Aria!" We finished the article to be put into the paper and we both went to bed. How interesting this mystery was. And painful. But it was all worth the fun and thrill.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Halloween Party!  
* Aria's POV*

It was only a week before Halloween and I was in a small panic. I had yet to find a costume for Veronica's Halloween party. Thank goodness it was on a Friday. I wanted to be unique but that was difficult. I loved Halloween to no end but I always try to do something out there. I also don't like repeating my costumes and I've already done that enough times. I'm not going as a fairy or a princess because my mom would dress me in that a lot. Zombies and ghosts were out of touch for me, Vampires are over rated and yeah no werewolf yet. I know that at my age 'Sexy' costumes were in but not for me nor this small town. It was Monday and I was waiting outside of the school for Archie to take me to the mall.

"The one day I forget my skates." I mumbled as I saw him exiting the school with Veronica clinging on to him as he walked out.

"What the?" I questioned as he got closer to me.

"Archie? Aren't you going to take me to the mall still? I'm still looking for a costume and the mall is the last place to check." I reminded him as he then paled a bit before smacking his head.

"Oh! I'm sorry Aria I can't today. I got a project to do with Ronnie." He said as I got upset.

Lately he's been pushing me off after our werewolf mystery. Yes I did heal and I got my stitches taken out early, aka yesterday, but he's been a bit bummed about the lack of mysteries and pushing me away like he has has been making me mad.

"Archie you promised!" I started yelling.

"I'm sorry Aria. I can take you tomorrow-" He started before I cut him off.

"FORGET IT! I'LL WALK!" I screamed as I stormed off away from him and Ronnie and ignored his calls.

*Some nerve he has! He pushed me away over the weekend and is now pushing me away again! He promised!* I thought in anger as I noticed Geoff heading my way and waving to me.

"Hey Aria!" He said as he saw my anger.

"Hi Geoff." I mumbled still angered by Archie.

"Did you and Archie get into a fight? I saw you two talking before you screamed at him." He told me as I sighed.

"He's been pushing me away ever since the werewolf mystery and to top it off he promised to take me to the mall to hunt for a good costume and he blew me off for Veronica. I just don't get it. He promised." I said as I started calming down a bit.

"Whoa dudette. That's rough. Do you need a ride? The guys and I were heading down to the mall to look for group costumes anyways. Would you like to join us? It's no bother and the mall is pretty far. We could help you to if you'd like." He said as I perked up at that.

"Yeah! Sure if you guys don't mind. It would help a lot." I replied with a smile as Geoff and I walked to the others.

"No worries. We never mind having you around." He said as we approached the others.

"Hey guys. Aria's gonna join us to the mall since her ride ditched her ok?" He said as I heard a bunch of yups and yeahs and saw them nodding as we headed out to the parking pulled me to his Jeep while the others hopped in there cars and we were off to the mall.

"Sorry that I dragged you to my Jeep but since I offered I wanted to be the one to take you." He told me as I smiled at him.

"Thats ok. Would've been nicer to say so then pull me but I understand." I told him as he mumbled a sorry through his chuckles. We soon made it to the mall and I was happy about that. We huddled into a group and began at the 1st costume store we saw.

"So….What kind of group costume are you guys looking for?" I questioned.

"Well we were thinking cowboys or sports team or something along those lines." Tyler piped up from near a rack.

"Yeah. Something from a movie as a group could work to." Jimmy hollered from the shoes.

"Oh I get it." I told them as I continued looking around.

"Maybe you would like to join us?" Ronin asked as I thought about it.

"Maybe. Lets see what we can come up with 1st." I said as we continued to look around. After a while we decided to head to another store. Then another. Then another. We hit a fourth one and found a lot more costumes. Apparently they were overstocked and lacked in a few customers so this helped us a lot.

"So whats this about a ride ditching you?" Jimmy asked as he randomly appeared next to me making me jump slightly and glare at him.

"Don't do that! Scare the grey hairs in. * Sigh*. Archie promised to take me here but he decided to be with Veronica today and brake his promise towards me." I told him after I scolded him for scaring me.

"That's not right. Did he say why?" He asked me.

"He said they had a project to do together but I know Archie could've waited until tonight or tomorrow. He's using it as an excuse to have an early date with her." I explained as I picked up a witch hat and examined it before putting it back.

"That's not right at all. If he made a promise then he should keep it." Jimmy told me as I nodded.

"Exactly." I added as we continued looking.

"Hey! Maybe we can do something from Batman!" I heard Tyrone say as we then saw some batman costumes.

"Sweet!" I nearly shouted as I grabbed Jimmy and pulled him towards the rack. There were villain costumes like Penguin, Two face with make up set, Scarecrow, Riddler, Joker, and Killer Croc for the male villains and I saw a Poison Ivy costume to complete it all.

"Perfect! I can be Poison Ivy! I already have the red hair. I can also help with the make up effects." I said as I pulled the costume off the rack and saw the one piece green corset with green fishnet leggings. I looked over at the shoes and saw the green ankle boots and went into the dressing room. I walked out in the costume and the boys were staring at me in shock and awe.

"Need help deciding who should be who?" I asked as they continued to stare at me with open mouths.

"You guys act like you've never seen a Poison Ivy cosplayer before." I said as Geoff was the 1st to snap out of it.

"You look incredible." He said as I smiled. I decided to Help them with costumes. Tyrone was bulky with muscles so he was going to be Killer Croc. Jimmy had an extra sly grin so I thought he would make an awesome Riddler. I already decided Ronin would be a perfect Penguin. I convinced Collins to be Joker while I convinced Tyler to be Scarecrow. That left Geoff as Two Face. They tried on the costumes and they fit perfectly so we purchased the costumes and I thought it would be a good idea to go to the arts and crafts store to pick up a few extra props like fake Ivy leaves and a hot glue gun for my costume. The guys wanted extras done as well so I picked up a few extra things to improve there costumes.

"Thanks for taking me with you guys. I really needed this." I said to them.

"It's no problem at all Aria. Your always welcome with us. All you have to do is ask." Ronin said with a smile.

"Yeah! Your super cool!" Geoff added as I smiled and lightly blushed.

"Idea! How about we go back to my place for snacks while we work on our homework and costumes." Tyler piped up as I smiled at them.

"Well actually I should get home but I can spruce up your costumes a bit while you guys do your homework. Besides I'm already done with most of this week's homework anyways." I told them as they gawked at me.

"Wait! Your just about done with this weeks homework? For all your classes?" Collins asked in complete shock.

"Well except French class but that shouldn't be much of a problem." I said as I looked at the shocked boys.

"What?" I asked them. Was it bad that I got my homework done early to have more free time?

"Dudette. That's awesome! You must be super smart. Well I mean I know your super smart with the mathematics you told me about but never thought smart as Dilton." Geoff confessed as I shrugged my shoulders.

"I figured I'd have more free time if I finished early." I confessed.

"Are you sure you don't wanna come over?" Tyler asked me again.

"I'm sure. Maybe tomorrow? I can help you boys with your homework plus I still need to work on an art project. Maybe I can find something to inspire me." I noted.

"Of course! We can work on our art projects tomorrow. We can help." Tyler jumped in for the others. I smiled and agreed. Geoff was nice enough to take me home. I waved goodbye as I walked into the house. I went into the living room and saw Veronica on Archie's lap, twirling her fingers through his hair, and flirting with him.

"Project huh? What's the project? Mouth to mouth?" I asked bitterly as Archie suddenly flew up, dropped Veronica off his lap, and spun to look at me.

"Aria. Where-" He started but I cut him off.

"I'm fine Archie. Geoff and the guys were kind enough to bring me to the mall and helped me find a costume. I have plans for tomorrow as well so no need to worry. You can continue this lesson with Betty tomorrow too." I scolded as I went up to my room.

"Aria wait!" Archie hollered.

"What? Betty?" I heard Veronica screech as I closed my bedroom door. I put the costumes and props on my bed as I took my shoes off and put my head phones on to listen to 'Sad But True' By Metallica as I got started. I decided to start improving the cheap, stupid looking Riddler cane by using paper machete and black, green, purple, and gold spray paint. I made the cane black and purple with green and gold glitter and made a Styrofoam and machete question mark glued to the top of the cane that was black and gold with green glitter on it. That was harder said then done. I also improved the bolo hat and tie to go with the tux. For the two face one I improved the wig to make it look better along with making a better version of the coin. I took some fabric and made a new vest and tie for the suit as well as added new cuff buttons onto it. The Killer Croc one I added a few rips to the pants, got rid of the ripped top, and added a wire bent, move able, realistic tail to go with it. I even found some fake teeth that wouldn't hurt him at all. I didn't have to do much with the Joker costume except redo a hat I bought to go with it. It was kind of like a fedora but not really. I even added a thin red feather for touch and added a few joker cards to the pockets of the suit. The Penguin costume just needed a better top hat, better umbrella, which I added a small penguin logo on it and a penguin head on the handle, and a monocle. The Scarecrow costume was the hardest one of all. I completely redid the whole thing. I added more rips and patches, added rope as well, make a whole knew mast to make it scarier, added a hat, used less straw, and even added a gas mask to be effectively scary. With my costume I just added vines, leaves, and fingerless gloves to my costume. I even added a couple flowers here and there to make a better plant effect. I pulled all the make up aside and put all the costumes in plastic bag hangers and neatly hung then in my closet for the night (Side note: It took me all week. This was just a prep of what I started and got done the day before Halloween.). I yawned and stretched as I turned off my tunes, got into pajamas, and slipped into bed.

*Next day.*

I only got four hours of sleep so I was pretty tired all day. I even lagged behind in gym class. I was glad when the day was over. I asked Geoff if it was ok if he could give me a ride to Jimmy's and then back home. He agreed. We were at Jimmy's house right now eating junk food and doing some work while listening to some tunes. I decided to use my large canvas as I looked at the boys and thought of what to draw. I saw the way the boys were posed, two on there stomachs, one sitting on a chair in the corner with a canvas, two on the couch, one also had a small canvas, and one leaning just right against the door frame with a small canvas as well. I saw the scene with the shadows and smiled. I got to work drawing the boys as best as I could, hoping they wouldn't move much, and tried to time things just right like when Tyrone threw popcorn at Geoff while they were on the floor, or while Tyler was leaning against the door frame captured the shadows against that sly smile of his. It was almost 8 o'clock now and I was tired. I started falling asleep when Geoff came up to me and said it was time to go home. I covered up my art work and got ready to leave, saying goodbye to everyone, and let Geoff take me home. I thanked him and said goodbye as I went into the house. I saw Betty curling up with Archie. All I did was scoff, catching there attention, and walked off.

*Friday AKA Halloween*

We got to leave school early and thank goodness we could. Archie has been trying to talk to me all week and I decided to ignore him. He had Jughead talk to me and I explained how Archie pushed me away and that if I wanted that then I would rather be home. Jughead understood and would talk to Archie for me during school hours. I waited for Archie by his car. Jimmy said he had the guys carpool so we could get ready at Archie's place instead of lugging costumes around and waste more gas. I saw Archie approach me, alone, with a worried look on his face. He got in front of me as I tapped my foot.

"Well?" I questioned with very little attitude towards him. He sighed and looked at me with sad eyes.

"Aria I'm sorry. I had no idea I was hurting you that much. I just didn't want you to get hurt anymore being around me and I thought you would've been fine with your new friends. Guess I forgot how much I was ignoring you. I didn't mean to push you off on Monday either. Your right. I should keep my promises." He said in hopes I'd forgive him. I just looked at him.

"Aria. Please. I'm sorry. Forgive me?" He asked as he gave me those pleading eyes.

"Uhg donuts. Alright. Just enough of that look and the grovelling. I'll forgive you as long as we go top Pop's and maybe a movie on Sunday." I told him with a small smile as he smiled widely and hugged me tightly.

"I promise. I'll make time for you." He said as I hugged him back.

"You better or you'll wake up to all your clothes in the tree." I told him as he chuckled. I wonder if I should tell him I'm serious or let him think it's a joke. I'll let him think it's a joke for now. We got in the car and headed to the house.

"So you never told me what your costume was." I said as we continued on our way home.

"Oh right. Well I'm going as a knight to impress Betty and Veronica." He said as I laughed.

"Seriously?" I questioned him.

"Yeah." He said. I just laughed.

"Oh yeah? What are you going to be?" He asked me as I smiled at him.

"The guys and I are going as Batman Villains. I'm Poison Ivy." I told him as he looked at me.

"Really?" He asked me.

"Well thats what happens when you go last minute." I told him. He nodded as we pulled up to the house.

"By the way Jughead is coming over." He mentioned as I beamed up.

"Cool. The guys are coming over too so I can help with there costumes and make up effects." I added in.

"Really? Do they really need help?" He asked me as I glared at him.

"Yes! I've made improvements to all the costumes and the make up will definitely take a while as well. Don't judge me! You know I love Halloween and take it seriously!" I told him as I slightly pouted at the end while he laughed.

"Trust me. I know." He said as we went inside. I ran upstairs three times to grab everything as I set up in the living room.

"Really Aria? In here?" Archie asked as I shrugged.

"My room's too small and I thought you didn't want boys in there?" I questioned as he glared at me.

"I don't!" He said with his fists on his hips.

"Exactly. Plus your room is bigger so you and Jughead will be fine." I said to him. Before he could say anything else the doorbell rang.

"Oh fine." Archie said as he went to answer the door. I smiled as I displayed the make up sets and the mini mirrors to help. I heard footsteps just as I finished. I turned to see Jughead and the guys.

"Hey Aria. Found these guys outside looking for ya." He said casually as I went up and lightly hugged him. I failed to notice the guys mixed looks. I pulled away and smiled at him.

"What's your costume Jughead?" I asked as he shook his head and tutted.

"Thats a surprise." He said as I giggled.

"Hey guys. Your costumes are over here." I said as I led them to my temporary studio. I turned back to Jughead and Archie and smiled at them.

"Let me know if you two need help as well." I said as I went to my costume.

"Will do." I heard Jughead say as they went up to Archie's room. It took a long while but I helped them get into there costumes and mostly helped with the make up effects. What can I say? I work fast when need be. After I finished I got myself ready. Once we were ready we snapped a few pictures to save the moment.

"Wow Aria! You look great! And you did well with them." I heard Jughead say as I turned and looked at him before I giggled at him. He was dressed as a lion.

"Say can you do some make up on me to? To make me look real?" I heard him ask as I nodded.

"Sure. Can you just get a few with us together first?" I asked him.

"Sure. No problem." He said with a nod and smile as I tossed him the camera. After a few pics I did a light amount of make up on Jughead and made him look a little like the cowardly lion from the wizard of oz except more ferocious.

"Hey Jughead what's taking so-WHOA!" We heard as we all looked at Archie, frozen, staring at us and looking a tad freaked for a bit before he regained his composure.

"Wow Aria. You've gotten better. I thought they were the real deal." He complemented my work as I giggled again.

"I just finished Jughead too." I said as I spun him around to look at Archie.

"Wow! I'm impressed." He said as Jughead looked in the mirror before he lightly yelped and jumped back.

"Is that me?" He turned and asked me as I nodded yes at him. We hurried to the cars and made our way to Veronica's mansion. I'd never been there before so it was huge and impressive for me. We knocked on the door and an elderly, pudgy, balding man answered the door.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Hi Smithers."Archie said to him.

"Veronica is expecting all of you." He said as we went inside.

"Hello. I'm Aria." I said politely as I looked at the man dressed as a royal guard like in Aladdin.

"I'm Smithers, Veronica's servant. Please let me know if you need anything." He said as I lightly smiled at him.

"I'll try not to." I said as I got dragged to the party.I looked around the large, overly decorated, party room filled with snacks, punch, balloons, streamers, people in costumes and such and was thoroughly impressed. There was even a game area and it looked like you could win things like tiny teddy bears and Halloween props. That impressed me more. Then again, Veronica was rich, so this was nothing.

"Archie! Aria Jughead!" We heard Betty's voice as we looked over and saw her make her way over to us. She was dressed as a princess, more specifically, Princess Cinderella (Animated one.) in the blue gown with glass looking plastic slippers.

"Wow! Betty! You look _gorgeous_!" Archie said as I stopped myself from rolling my eyes.

"Archie you look so handsome as a knight." She said as she awed at him before seeing us.

"Wow! Jughead you look like a real lion!" She awed at him.

"Thanks. Aria did the make up." He said as she then got a glimpse of my costume.

"Wow Aria." She said before she saw the boys in there costumes.

"Amazing." She added.

"Yeah! Aria fixed them up over the week. She's amazing." Jimmy said as I blushed lightly.

"Jimmy." I mumbled out of embarrassment as Betty looked at me.

"Is that why you've been tired? Either way these look amazing." She complimented.

"Thank you." I mumbled.

"Oh Archie-kins." We heard Veronica say as she then popped out of nowhere and clung on to Archie. I looked at her costume. She was dressed as Princess Jasmine and even did the hair in her style.

"Wow Ronnie. You look _amazing_!" He said as I tried even harder not to roll my eyes.

"I know. Hmm. Your not in the costume I expected but a Knight does suit you best. I'll take it." She said as she examined him before clinging on to him again.

"Hey. He's my date Veronica." Betty said as she clung onto Archie's other arm. Soon it turned into tug of war as I snuck away from the group and went to the snack table to eat something. I was hungry after all. I was filling my plate up when I heard snarling from behind me. I turned my head and saw a werewolf behind me. I grew in shock, thinking back to the incident that happened a few weeks ago, and shrieked as I dropped my food and punched the side of it's head really hard. I heard a familiar scream as it fell on the floor. I was trying not to tear up from the fright.

"Aria!" I heard as I saw Tyrone pick up the werewolf and Ronin pull off the mask to reveal Reggie. I was slightly hyperventilating, even after seeing Reggie, as I glared at him in anger.

"Reggie Mantle! You scared me half to death. Didn't you remember the werewolf attack?" I nearly screamed at him.

"Whoa Aria! Calm down. I didn't know it was you. By the way you, Doll Face, look **super hot** in that!" He said at first defending himself before completely flirting with me.

"Her name is Aria, **NOT** Doll Face." Tyrone snarled as Reggie looked at him and then freaked out.

"Wah!" He wailed as he then started running in mid air, from Tyrone's grip, before he was released and ran off somewhere.

"Are you alright Aria?" Ronin asked as I nodded.

"Yeah. I'm ok." I said as I bent down and started cleaning up the food I dropped.

"Aria. You ok?" I heard Archie before Veronica spoke.

"You don't have to get that. Smithers. Clean this up please." I looked and saw Smithers starting to clean as I helped him. Guess that shocked him a bit.

"I'm sorry Smithers. I got scared." I told him as he smiled at me softly.

"Thats quite alright Miss Aria." He replied as the mess was soon cleaned up.

"Reggie can be a jerk." I heard Betty say.

"He said he didn't know it was Aria." Tyrone stated as I got up just for Jughead to hug me. I oofed and was a bit shocked at that to be honest.

"Aria are you ok? I heard you shriek and saw Reggie run off in that werewolf costume." He said as I muffled out that I was ok. Jughead let go of me and looked at Archie.

"I thought you were going to tell her that Reggie always dresses as a werewolf for Halloween every year for the last five years if you count this one." Jughead said towards Archie as I glared ice at him.

" _ **What**_?" I muttered darkly. I guess my glare and dark voice scared everyone around me as I heard Archie chuckle before making up some dimwitted excuse and led Betty and Veronica to the dance floor. I just shook my head as I grabbed a new plate and started filling it again.

"Man. And I thought I was scary." I heard Tyrone say as I chuckled a bit.

"Yeah my temper is a force to be reckoned with." I said as I finished filling my plate and began eating.

"Want us to wait for you?" I heard Ronin ask as I shook my head no.

"You boys go ahead. I'll meet you guys around the room later when I finish." I said as Ronin and Tyrone nodded before leaving. I looked and saw Jughead next to me, plate full of food, as he began eating.

"Mind if I join?" He asked as I shook my head no.

"Go ahead." I said before biting into my cupcake. Jughead and I ate and talked a bit.

"So. *Munch* How long have you done costumes and make up?" He asked me as he devoured a cupcake in two bites before starting another.

"I've been improving costumes since I was nine and make up effects since I was thirteen. I might not sew well but I can do quick fixes and improvements. Can't make outfits yet but I'm learning." I said as I finished the last of my food before throwing my plate away in the trashcan we were near.

"Cool." Jughead said. Before we could finish the conversation someone came up to us. It was a girl dressed up as Dorothy from the wizard of oz. I recognized that hight and teeth anywhere. Big Ethel.

"Hey Aria. Love the costume. Hey Juggy." She said in a flirtatious way towards him as I froze. Juggy? Were they dating? Did she have a crush on him? Did he have one on her? Many thoughts ran through my head as I heard Jughead speak.

"Don't call me that." I looked at them. It was obvious from his facial expression that she liked him but he didn't like her like that.

"Aw you look so cute as a lion. How about you gain your courage and dance with me?" She asked as he shook his head.

"How about I stay cowardly and run." He said before he bolted with Big Ethel following close behind him.

*So she likes him but he doesn't like her like that? What a relief. Wait? Relief? Why? I'm not dating him? I don't even think he likes me like that. Do I like him like that?* I thought to myself. Before I can think about it I heard someone behind me.

"Well I'll be super Immaculate. Aria? Is that you?" I heard Dilton ask as I turned to look at him and smiled. He was dressed as a scientist. More specifically Albert Einstein.

"Hey Dilton. Or should I say Einstein." I said in a teasing way as I saw him looking me up and down. I looked at him, smile slightly fading, and blushed a soft pink.

*Why is he staring at me like that? I know I'm not the only girl dressed in a slightly sexual way.* I thought as I remembered Veronica's costume and remembered a few other girls dressed as sexy cats or cheerleaders or witches.

"You look amazing. Your hair is perfect for Poison Ivy. I even like the ivy's and small flowers on you." He complimented, snapping out of the daze, as I blushed a bit harder.

"Th-thanks." I stuttered lightly. Why did I stutter? Did I like him? But Jughead? I mentally shook my head as I continued to talk to Dilton.

"I didn't have a lot of time to pick a costume out so Geoff, Tyrone, Jimmy, Tyler, Ronin, Collins and I went in a group as Batman villains." I explained as I fully turned to him to talk to him better.

"Well I like it." He said as I giggled.

"Yeah. I improved the costumes and even did the make up. I even did Jughead's." I said as Dilton looked at me in shock.

"Made improvements? And the make up? Amazing." He said as I blushed lightly again. I then heard 'Monster Mash' start to play as I smiled at Dilton.

"Come dance with me." I said as I grabbed him and pulled him to the dance floor as the song was playing. I began dancing to it (Like in the Just Dance game.) While Dilton just stood there.

"Aria. I don't-" He started but I grabbed his hands and got him to start dancing.

"Just follow my moves." I told him as I let go of him and showed him how to dance to this song. He was slowly starting to get the hang of it and we were soon dancing and smiling together. Once the song ended I saw him smiling.

"I never danced to that song before." He said as I smiled at him.

"Fun wasn't it?" I asked as he smiled.

"Yes it was." He replied as another song came on and we began dancing again. Dilton was a funny dancer and I giggled at it. He told me in the middle of dancing that he couldn't dance and I giggled and told him that what he was doing was a form of dancing. He chuckled and we danced to another song. In the middle of it Jughead came over.

"Mind if I join?" He asked as I smiled at him.

"Not at all." I said as the three of us were doing the twist to 'Twist and Shout' By The Beatles. We were smiling and enjoying ourselves.

*3rd POV*

Jughead had finally gotten away from Big Ethel. He missed 'Monster Mash' because of that and he really liked that song. He looked over and a song came on he saw Aria and Dilton dancing together. They were smiling and laughing a bit and this made Jughead feel weird. Normally he wouldn't care but Aria was dancing with another guy and Jughead didn't like that all too much. Even if it was Dilton.

*Ever since she came here I've felt different around her. I even let her put make up on me. After that werewolf attack I've felt something. I even share my food with her. What's wrong with me?* He thought to himself. Once he heard 'Twist and Shout' by The Beatles he let the small jealousy get to him as he got right next to Aria, opposite side of Dilton, and caught her attention.

"Mind if I join?" Jughead asked as Aria smiled at him.

"Not at all." She replied as the three were doing the twist and enjoying themselves. Dilton and Jughead had a single thought through their heads.

*Aria is fun to be around. I like her a lot.* as they caught eyes with each other. You would swear there was a small lightning bolt between them as if to challenge one another to a fight but was soon ignored and replaced with smiles towards Aria when the song ended and 'Thriller' by Micheal Jackson came on.

"I love this song!" Aria exclaimed as she showed Dilton and Jughead how to dance to it. They had been watched by Archie, who was still with Betty and Veronica, as the girls talked about who was a better princess. They soon saw Archie wasn't paying attention and saw him look at his cousin having a good time and teaching Dilton and Jughead how to dance to 'Thriller'.

"Wow. She got Dilton and Jughead to dance." Betty said with surprise in her voice and a smile on her voice.

"I've never seen Dilton dance before. And Jughead usually eats at these parties." Veronica added in as Archie smiled.

"Yeah. She can bring the good out in people. It's incredible how Jughead has grown attached to her. Also nice to see that Dilton's not being taken advantaged of." He pointed out as another thought crossed his mind suddenly. Do Dilton and Jughead have crushes on her? And if so do they realize it? And does Aria? He tried to think back to the moment she arrived to now but it was cut short when Betty and Veronica pulled him out to dance as well. Archie decided not to think about it for now.

They weren't the only ones who saw this event. Geoff had seen this as well when 3 girls, dressed as cats, complimented his costume. He mentioned Aria and her work as the four saw her dancing. Geoff wished it was him out there with her but he saw how happy she was. She saw Jughead every so often and Dilton mostly in class so he liked the fact that she tried to spent time with everyone. He decided that after the song he would ask her to dance with him.

Unfortunately he wasn't the only one who thought that. Ronin was smiling in the corner of the room just watching Aria dance. Jimmy had been showing off when he saw Aria dancing and wondered about asking her to dance with him as well. Tyrone and Tyler were bobbing for apples, trying not to ruin Aria's work, and when they stopped they saw Aria smiling and dancing. They smiled because she was smiling and having fun. Lastly Collins had finished eating as he watched Aria with a smile on his face but a glint in his eyes. He had been watching from the moment she pulled Dilton onto the dance floor and even when Jughead joined in. He was determined to get her to notice him more so tonight.

Over by another set of games Reggie glared at Jughead and Dilton dancing with Aria. He wanted Aria to himself. Then Again he also wanted Betty and Veronica but still. He really had no idea that the Poison Ivy girl was really Aria. If he'd known that he wouldn't have scared her. He truly felt sorry for that. He might have been a jerk, especially to Archie, but after she saved him in the jail from the beast he did change slightly. He didn't want to scare Aria with the wolf costume at all. He understood that fear and didn't like the fear he saw in her eyes when she saw him like that. It bothered him to no end. Even if she did punch him, which he admitted to himself that as harsh as it was, he deserved it. He hated the fact that he let that bulky jock, Tyrone, scare him. He later found out who it was and also found out Aria did the make up of all the boys, including Jughead, and redid all the costumes. He watched her dance as he thought of something. Maybe, just maybe, he could win her a prize as an apology. Maybe he could be less him and talk to her.

*What does she see in Jughead and Dilton anyways? Jughead's weird and Dilton's a nerd.* Was all he thought as he made his way up to her. He was going to get her attention and apologize whether she liked it or not. He was determined.

*Aria's POV*

'Thriller' ended and I smiled at Dilton and Jughead.

"That was fun!" I said with a smile. Before anything else could happen I felt myself get pulled away. I looked and saw Dilton and Jughead looking for me as I looked at who was pulling me away.

*Reggie?* I thought as he pulled me into the kitchen to be alone. Once there he stopped pulling me and spun me around to look at him.

"Listen to me before you walk away." He said as I glared at him.

"What do you want?" I asked bitterly as I saw his mask was off of him.

"Doll-I mean Aria." He started off taking me in for a lop. He just corrected himself and called me Aria. Except for the werewolf scare he never calls me Aria. I looked at him to see small sadness in his eyes.

"I'm sorry I scared you. I really had no idea that was you. I was going to have the mask off when I approached you so you wouldn't scream. Even though it was harsh I deserved to get punched. I wanted to pull you aside and tell you I'm sorry. I didn't want some one to interrupt us. Can I show you how sorry I am? I never properly thanked you for helping me out as well. Can I win you a prize?" He confessed and asked me. Ok! Now I'm shocked. Reggie corrected himself and called me Aria, He apologized, he wanted to properly thank me and say sorry away from people and even got me alone to say so, admitted to deserving the punch I gave him AND wants to win me a prize to thank me and say sorry? Other than pulling me away from people rudely this was different for Reggie.

*Am I in the Twilight Zone or something? Seriously? Did dancing to Thriller open up a portal that sucked me into a parallel universe to where Reggie is nice?* I thought as he waited patiently for my answer. I just sighed and folded one arm around me while I used the opposite elbow to rest on my hand so it prop up my arm to use my hand to hold my head as I shook my head lightly.

"Reggie. I'm sorry I punched you but I did that out of reflex to be honest." I sighed again as now both arms are folded in front of me as I looked at him.

"I guess I could forgive you. And I accept the thank you as well. You don't have to win me anything but it was nice to hear you say sorry at least." I said as he then smiled brightly.

"I'm glad you forgive me. I'll win you a prize from one of the games Ronnie set up. I'll even let you pick it out." He said in determination.

"Reggie you don't-" I started but he then grabbed my hand.

"No talking out of it Doll Face." He said with a smile and pulled me out of the kitchen to the games as I had a thin line across my lips and slightly furrowed brows. He went back to the nickname and his old self like that. He had pulled me past Collins and Jughead as he brought me over to one of the games with different prizes. I tried to tell Reggie he didn't have to but he didn't listen. He played the game and won a chance at the prizes as he brought me over to the stuff.

"Alright Doll Face. Pick whichever one you want." He told me.

"Reggie please stop calling me that." I told him.

"Alright then my rose." He said as I groaned at that one.

"It's because I'm Poison Ivy isn't?" I asked as he nodded. I groaned again as I looked at the prizes.

"Reggie stop holding Aria hostage." I heard Collins say behind me as I looked and saw him and Jughead glaring at Reggie.

"Yeah. Stop being a menace." Jughead butted in.

"I'm not holding her hostage." Reggie started before I stepped between him and the other two.

"Guys. Calm down. Reggie just wanted to apologize to me in private thats all. He just won me a prize to say so." I said as I shocked both of them.

"Reggie? Apologize? Now I've heard it all!" Jughead said in a state of shock while Collins looked at me.

"So he's not bothering you?" Collins asked me.

"Oh no. He is. But it's ok. It's only temporary before I spend time with everyone else." I said as I heard Reggie say "Huh?" Before I looked at him.

"Reggie I need to spent time with other people as well. That's why I came to the party. To see everyone." I exclaimed as I picked out my prize, a cute little stuffed spider, and walked away with Jughead and Collins after thanking Reggie.

I danced with Collins, played games with Tyrone and Tyler, talked to Geoff a bit, ate a bit with Ronin and Jimmy, Talked to Big Ethel before she chased Jughead again, Talked to Betty and Veronica for a while, hung out with Moose and Midge, Avoided Reggie a bit, taught Dilton another dance, and in the end Archie, Jughead and I said goodbye to everyone as everyone headed home. Betty was staying the night with Veronica, Dilton had a ride home, The boys were heading out, but not before they gave me a hug and gave me a mini plastic cauldron full of sweets, and Reggie wanted to take me home but I declined him nicely before Archie tried to jump in. We were on our way back home now.

"So Jughead. Are we taking you home or are you staying the night?" I asked as I looked at the time. The got to the party around 5pm and now it was almost 11pm.

"Archie said I could stay the night so I will." He said as I smiled.

"Horror movie and snacks?" I asked as he smiled at me.

"Sure. Why not." He replied as Archie rolled his eyes.

"Honestly Aria." He started but I glared at him.

"Dare you to say something Archie! You know I watch at least one horror movie on Halloween." I told him as he chuckled lightly.

"Yeah alright. But I'm heading to bed." He said while pulling to the driveway. Jughead and I didn't even wait for him to turn the engine off as we sprung for the house, I unlocked the door with my key, and headed straight to the living room to prep the movie while Jughead went into the kitchen and grabbed the popcorn and drinks. By the time Archie got into the house we were set up and began watching Halloween.

"This one? Aria you've seen this." Archie told me as I rolled my eyes.

"I know but I like this one. Plus Jughead hasn't seen it in a while so it works out." I mentioned as Archie shook his head with a sigh before muttering goodnight and headed upstairs to sleep.

Halfway through the movie I guess I fell asleep. I heard snoring and woke up to me laying partly on Jughead, head kind of on his chest, snoring, still in our costumes, on the couch, TV still on, and his right arm around me while his left hung off the couch. I blushed hard. How could I fall asleep? And on Jughead too? When did he fall asleep? I decided to wake him up so Archie wouldn't see this and have a cow.

"Jughead." I whispered as he stirred a bit.

"Jughead?" I whispered slightly louder as he stirred a bit more.

"Jughead!" I whisper scolded and nudged him as he snapped awake.

"Huh?" He mumbled groggily before he looked at my blushing face and realized what position we were in and that we most likely fell asleep like this on accident. His cheeks suddenly went red as he let go of me and nearly yelped. I quickly covered his mouth.

"Shh. Don't wake Archie up. I don't want a cow for a cousin." I whispered as I released his mouth and got off of him quickly.

"Aria?" Jughead started but I stopped him.

"It's ok. We fell asleep thats all. Nothing happened." I said with a small smile as I stretched.

"I'm hopping in the shower." I stated and headed for the stairs. When I got near them I stopped and looked at him.

"Oh! And let's keep this between us ok?" I asked as he stretched and nodded. His cheeks were still a little pink, as were mine. I smiled and went up the stairs into the bathroom before having a mild panic attack.

*Cheese balls! I fell asleep on Jughead? What is wrong with me?* I thought as I quickly showered and then darted into my room with a towel wrapped around me and my costume in my hands. I hopped into my jean pants and my black 'Little Monster' top and walked out my room. I heard the shower going and figured it was Jughead. I went downstairs and saw the mess was half way cleaned up. I cleaned up the rest and started making eggs, bacon, and pancakes. Jughead came downstairs, freshly clean from the shower and dressed in normal clothes, as he smelt the food and started drooling.

"Smells yummy." He exclaimed as he went to snatch a piece of bacon before I smacked hi hand away.

"Jughead. No! Nonono! You need to wait." I told him giggling as I kept lightly smacking his hands away from the bacon bowl. I moved them in front of me but that only caused him to put his arms on each side of me, head over my right shoulder, and body slightly pushed against me as I blushed gently while trying to keep the bacon away from him and cook the eggs and flip the pancakes.

"Aw come on Aria! Just one?" He asked while trying to get some. I was now trying to wiggle away form him as I giggled and gently blushed from this.

"No Jughead. No. Jughead! I said no!" I started gently scolding before it became strict. I had finally managed to squeeze away from him only to keep trying as I got to the fridge to grab butter and syrup and put in on the table before getting some OJ for the table to.

"Aw. Don't be mean." He said as he almost succeeded on getting one before I spun around him and giggled some more.

"Huh?" He said in a shocked tone as he the spun around to see me continue cooking and setting the table.

"You need to wait." I told him as I piled more bacon into the bacon bowl.

"But I don't wanna." He pouted as he then leaned against me again to get the bacon. I whined at this and went lightly pink again. Before anything else could happen we heard a cough. We both froze as we looked behind us to see Archie, in his jeans and black top, leaning against the doorway just staring at us with a slightly amused look on his face.

"Having fun?" He asked as he lightly chuckled. I blushed harder. How long was he there?

"Hey Arch!" Jughead said before reaching. I then grabbed the spatula and gently smacked his hand just as his finger touched a piece of bacon. Jughead yelped lightly as he then jumped back and held his hand.

"Jughead sit!" I turned and pointed the spatula at the stool as he looked at me.

"But-" He started before I looked at him again.

"Sit!" I demanded in a slightly playful tone before he complied. Archie soon joined him as I quickly finished the food and brought them over to the table.

"Did you guys enjoy the movie?" Archie asked as I stopped mid track.

Jughead casually said "Yeah. Still good and creepy. Went to bed after though." and started eating as I gently sighed and began eating breakfast. All in all Archie never found out about the couch thing, Jughead went home later that day and soon Sunday rolled around and, as promised, Archie spent the day with me as we ate at Pop's. We ended up going home and I tortured him with watching 'Where The Red Fern Grows' and 'Rio Bravo'. I liked those movies and he didn't and he knew that I knew but we both knew I would take this opportunity for revenge and I did.


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: The Christmas Phantom!

* Aria's POV*

It was almost Christmas time. The time for Joy and cheers, good will towards man, snow, music, movies, cookies, presents, and Family. Now normally my Christmas's sucked except when I got that phone call from Archie and perked up. This year I was away form my parents and with Archie so it's different. It was a week before Christmas and vacation had already began. I was so happy. I had done the school choir Christmas show and it turned out great. I got to do a solo for silent night, which no one knew about except me, the choir teacher and the choir class, so my aunt, uncle, cousin, and friends were shocked. The teacher had me stay after school, not only to practice, but to overcome my stage fright. I still have it but not as bad now. Whenever I see Archie it makes me smile and that makes me want to sing. Anyways I was wearing my jean pants tucked in my black winter boots with white foe fur trim and a light blue sweater with white snow flakes on it. I even braided my hair and put snowflake pins in it and silver bell earrings. Archie and I saved up money to buy all the teachers presents and small gifts for everyone in the school. I even made cookies. I found out Jimmy was going to see some relatives out of town for Christmas and that Ronin would be in Texas visiting his grandparents as well. I gave them their gifts and they gave me presents too. They told me to open them but I said I'd wait till Christmas. Geoff, Tyrone, and Tyler were spending time with their relatives as well so I won't see much of them, if at all, and Collins is free until Christmas eve and Christmas so he said he'd see me a few times at least. They gave me gifts too and I gave them gifts. I even gave Dilton a gift and he got me something as well. At the beginning of the day Archie and I took 45 minutes to make sure we gave everyone everything for Christmas. Now my only problem is that I don't have money to get gifts for Archie, Jughead, Betty, Veronica, Aunt Mary, Uncle Fred or even Reggie for that matter. I gave them cookies but thats not enough. I need to figure that out fast. I wasn't worried about it. I'll figure it out later in the day or tomorrow morning. Anyways after we finished we headed outside to meet with the gang. We walked out the door together in a good mood with bright smiles on our faces.

"Boy I sure do love Christmas time!" Archie commented when we were out the door.

"Me too." I said as I looked around and then up at the sky to see no snow and no clouds at all.

"What? No snow yet? Bummer." I said with a slight frown.

"Oh well! It _always_ snows in time for Christmas in Riverdale." Archie said with a smile in his voice to match the one on his face as I brightened up at that.

"Yeah! It'll snow!" I said as we made our way to the gang. They looked bored and Reggie looked irritated but I wasn't going to let that bring me down and Neither would Archie!

"We've been waiting _45 minutes_ for you two." Reggie said in an irritated tone.

"Well we just had to make sure everybody at Riverdale High got there gifts." Archie explained.

"And you mean _everybody._ " Reggie stated as I rolled my eyes at him.

"What can I say? We like Christmas." Archie said happily and casually as I nodded in agreement.

"Big deal. We all like Christmas. Especially all the _presents_ we'll be getting." Veronica said with a smile on her face.

"And all that _delicious_ Christmas food." Jughead added while licking his lips and drooling lightly. I held back my giggles.

*Jughead's so cute when he gets like that over food.* I thought to myself.

"And all that babysitting money I'll make when parents go out Christmas shopping." Betty added as she winked and smiled.

"And don't forget those bargains at the after Christmas sales." Reggie added in. He was right on that one. Once Christmas is over the Disney ornaments I collect and the nutcrackers I try to get go on sale between 75%-90% off. I always get one ornament every year since I was 5 and try to get nutcrackers as well. Never the less Archie turned and looked at them with a look of slight disappointment.

"But what about spending quality time with friends and family?" Archie asked them.

"Face it Arch, everybody knows the best thing about Christmas is the eats." He said as he started licking his lips and drooling again as I, yet again, held back my giggles.

"What about the spirit of _giving?_ " Archie asked.

"It's fun to get too. Admit it Archie, there's gotta be something you want for Christmas. Come on. Fess up. What did _you_ ask Santa to get _you_ this year?" She asked.

"Oh that's easy. He wants a 'Weird Mystery' to start off the new year." I told them in a cheery voice.

"Well that and to make sure you get a proper Christmas Aria." Archie added as I grew shocked before my face softened into a smile.

"Aw. Really?" I asked trying not to tear up at that. He knew my parents didn't set up a tree or decorations and if I left out cookies and milk they would either eat them or throw them away.

"Yeah." He said as my smile brightened.

"The poor boy has Christmas _and_ weird mysteries on the brain." Reggie said in a teasing voice.

"Well it's nice you want Aria to have a nice Christmas." Betty added in.

"Oh yeah that remind me. What did _you_ ask Santa for Doll Face? Whatever it is I can get it for you." Reggie flirted as he wrapped his arm around me. I quickly brushed him off me.

"Well for starters all I want for Christmas from you is to stop flirting with me. And second I asked Santa for three things only." I stated as Reggie pouted at me telling him not to flirt with me.

"What was that?" Betty asked me.

"That Archie gets his mystery that he wanted for one. Two: I asked for everyone to get what they wanted for Christmas and well. The third thing is….Well...Embarrassing." I said as I shuffled from one foot to the next as I avoided there looks and crossed my arms in front of me.

"Well? Come on tell us." Betty said as I sighed.

"I asked to meet Santa. It's stupid but I wanted to give him cookies and apologize for all the years my parents either ate his or threw them away. I wanted him to know that I still believe in him and that he deserves them for all the joy and happiness he spreads around the world." I said as I heard Reggie laughing.

"That's stupid. I mean the weird mystery for Archie I get. The gift thing I guess but meeting Santa? Really? Ha! Santa's not real!" Reggie said as I glared at him.

"He is too real! I don't care what you say!" I said as I started pouting like a child.

"Easy Aria." Archie said trying to calm me down.

"He's not real. If you can't see him then he doesn't exist." Reggie stated.

"Reggie!" Betty scolded.

"You don't see air but that exists." I stated as Reggie rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. Come on Doll Face. How about I dress up as Santa and get you something nice?" He asked me as I glared at him.

"Oh Archie-kins. All this talk of giving must mean your getting me an _expensive_ gift for Christmas. Right?" Veronica said as she clung on to Archie and changed the conversation.

*That's right! I still need to make money!* I thought in a panic.

"Um. Actually. Aria and I spent all our money getting gifts for everyone else." Archie confessed as I looked at him.

"Way to throw me under the sled with you Arch." I said to him as he chuckled nervously at me. Veronica suddenly shoved Archie away from her.

"Andrews. Your hopeless." Reggie said as I rolled my eyes.

"Also named Andrews." I pointed out.

"Your lavish gifts on them. *Sniff sniff* But your going to neglect _me?"_ Veronica said in a hurt voice as, even though she was being selfish, I felt a pang. I did the same thing to all of them.

"I'm just as guilty Veronica. I'm sorry. I ended up accidentally neglected all of you. I can look for a small job or two to get you all something." I stated as Reggie rolled his eyes

. "Your just as bad as Archie." Reggie stated. Veronica's phone rang and she moved away from us to answer it.

"You can give me a kiss to make up for it though." Reggie suddenly added as he came close to kissing me.

"Not gonna happen." I said as I shoved him away from me. I then saw Veronica hand Archie the phone.

"It's for you Archie-kins." Veronica said in a sweet and flirty tone. I wondered who it was.

"Hello? *Pause* Really?! *Pause* Thanks Mister Lodge. I'll be right down. Oh wait! Can my cousin join me? *Pause* She's right here." I heard Archie say as he then handed me the cell phone. I looked at it curiously before putting it up to my ear.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Hello. Are you Archie's cousin?" I heard an older gentleman ask me on the other line.

"Yes. Aria Andrews." I answered politely.

"Ah! Your the girl my sweet Veronica has mentioned. I'm her father. Archie wishes to know if you would like to join him." He said.

"May I ask what it's in regards to sir?" I asked trying to be polite.

"I need a responsible teenager to be Santa in my store and also the tree attacked my last one. Veronica mentioned that you help your cousin out. I can make you an elf and pay you in cash. $10 an hour alright?" He responded as I thought about it. I did need a job.

"If it includes a mystery then how about adding an extra 10% off purchases in the store. For gifts for my friends, cousin, and your daughter especially." I said adding in Veronica to sweeten the deal.

"Hmm. You drive a hard but fair bargain. I guess I'll agree to that. I'll even throw in free gift wrapping." He said as I smiled on the other end.

"Then you have yourself a deal sir. We'll be down there in no time." I said in a cheerful voice.

"Great. Goodbye now." He replied as he hung up. I handed Veronica her phone back and looked at Archie.

"I'm in." I simply stated.

"Wow! Mister Lodge not only got me and Aria a job but a weird mystery to solve. Guess there really _is_ a Santa Claus." Archie said as I smiled brightly.

"See? Told you he exists!" I said as I skipped over to Archie's side.

"And we start our jobs and mystery solving right now!" I said with glee as I grabbed my cousin by the arm and dragged him, while I skipped, to his car.

"Bye guys!" I shouted and waved.

"Bye!" Archie said as we made it to his car. What can I say? I'm excited. We hopped in the car and started talking on the way.

"You bargain well. I heard the 10% deal." Archie mentioned.

"Yeah. He also threw in free gift wrapping. Besides I'm used to bargaining in the city." I confessed.

"Well what will you be doing?" He asked me.

"Well while your Santa I'm going to be an elf. I figure that means taking pictures, handing out candy canes and keeping the line going. Stuff like that." I said with a smile. Archie was trying not to laugh.

"What?" I asked. "

You'd make a funny looking elf." He teased as I elbowed his arm.

"Hush." I added. We soon arrived to the store before it was opened. Once we got inside we were greeted by an older gentleman in a business suit.

"Ah Archie! Glad to see you made it. And this must be Aria. I'm Mister Lodge. We spoke over the phone." He said with a smile as he extended his hand towards me. I smiled and shook his hand with a polite yet firm grip.

"Pleasure to meet you sir." I replied to him as I let his hand go. He gave me and Archie our costumes to change into. My elf costume was a green sleeveless dress with white fur trimming that ended slightly above my knees, a black belt on it as well, red collar with silver bells on it, red and white stripped knee high socks, green pointed shoes with white fur trimming, a green little elf hat with red trimming, and I wore my green fingerless gloves that ended at the wrist and had white trimming with silver sparkles. I kept my hair the way it was and left in the earrings and snowflake pins. I redid my make up to light green eye shadow and silver eye liner with a touch of black to make my eyes look bigger. I put pink blush on my cheeks, that looked air brushed on, and clear lip gloss as well. I also added in silver sparkles on my exposed skin to really sparkle. And yes I even wore pointed ear tops to make my ears look like elf ears. When we were done he began to show us the store while talking to us.

"Archie. Aria. Christmas is our most profitable time of the year. I can't take a chance on having the customers frightened off. That's why I'm counting on both of you to get to the bottom of this 'Weird Mystery'." Mister Lodge told us as he led us to the Santa area.

"You can count on us sir. We'll be the best under cover operatives you've ever had." Archie boasted as I giggled at that.

"I'd rather you be the best Santa I've ever had." He said to Archie as he put a hand on his shoulder before he turned to address me.

"And for Aria to be the best Elf I've ever had. To be honest I've never had an elf help out before so this is a first." He admitted as I smiled even brighter now.

"Tis the season to make money you know." He added as I felt a pang in my heart. _Money_. That's all that seemed to matter really. _Greed._ I mentally shook my head as I kept a bright smile on my face. I wasn't going to let this bother me. Not at all.

"Uh. Right." I heard Archie say. I know he feels the same way I do.

"So this is the homicidal pine tree?" He asked as he pointed to a very large and very nicely decorated Christmas tree.

"Yes. This is the confer that _supposedly_ attacked Mister Bailey. Or at least that's what he said when he quit." he said, mumbling the last part, as he walked us up to the chair 'Santa' sits on.

"Funny how no one saw it happen except him. But I suppose your used things like that. Right Andrews?" He asked as he looked at us both. I hated it when someone said our last names with both of us here. It _always_ confuses me on whether someone was talking to me, Archie, or both of us.

"Absolutely! 'Weird Mysteries R' Us' sir." Archie replied while he sat down in the chair. I stifled a small chuckle and waited for instructions.

"Good. Because whatever happens, you _have_ to _stay calm_. Keep the kids happy. Speaking of which." He said as he trailed off the last words while walking away. I presumed he forgot to give us, or at least Archie, something.

"You don't look dangerous to me." I said in a cheery tone towards the tree as I went up to it and lightly stroked the branches to see, if it was alive, would react or not. It didn't.

"Aria! Don't do that! It might be alive!" Archie scolded me as I 'Pfft' at him.

"Archie! I doubt that." I said as I circled the tree once before Mister Lodge returned and told us the store was now opened. He handed me a camera, that deposits photo's right after you take a picture, with a stand and a bag filled with candy canes for the kids. I was setting it up while Archie practiced his 'ho ho ho'. We both failed to noticed a masked figure move a ceiling tile to stare at us. We also failed to notice, while I had my back turned, the tree shake a bit before it stopped just as I turned to Archie with a big smile.

"Ready?" I asked him. He nodded and soon the day began. Man was the day long. Some parents brought there own cameras but I still took pictures any ways. Kids were hopping on Archie, crying, reading off a long list, falling off his lap, me catching them just in time, stealing his hat, me getting his hat back, Me handing out candy canes, and one eleven year old who decided to try and look up my skirt. _Yeah._ Let's just say I had the kid by his ear and handed him to his parents and explained politely what had happened. They weren't mad about me grabbing their child by the ear and pulling him to them like that. I just said don't let it happen again and that he still deserves a Christmas as I gave all three a candy cane and skipped back to Archie to finish my job. I got back to see Archie had fallen asleep to one of the kids reading off a long list. Just as they finished I threw a candy cane at Archie, hitting his nose, as he woke up and saw the kid smiling at him and asking if he would get the stuff for him. Archie smiled and told him.

"Of course I will. I'm Santa!" He said as I took a picture. I helped the child off his lap and down the three steps before saying

"Merry Christmas little one." and handing him a candy cane before patting his head and watch him run off to his mother with a large smile on his face. I couldn't help but smile at that. Seeing these children happy made me happy. Soon the day was over and Archie was exhausted, slumped over in the chair looking like he was about to pass out, while I was just slightly tired. Mister Lodge locked up the store and began speaking to us.

"This has been the most _profitable_ shopping day in the Lodge Department Store's history." He said as he began walking up to us with a bright smile on his face.

"Well Archie, you did _much_ better than I expected. And I see that Christmas tree kept it's branches to itself." He said as he chuckled at the end of his sentence. I couldn't help but chuckle as well.

"And Aria you handled those children wonderfully." He turned to me with a smile as I smiled back.

"It wasn't that hard." I quickly mentioned before Archie sighed to catch both of our attentions.

"Yeah. I think that Bailey fella made it all up." He said before he turned away from the tree, I'm not even sure when he stood up to be honest, and looked at Mister Lodge.

"You know Mister Lodge, I can't believe how greedy kids are these days. Christmas is suppose to be about good cheer." He said while taking off the hat and beard. Archie was right though. Kids were greedy. But that's how some are. Not all of them were like that. Archie sighed before he continued talking.

"What am I going to be like after a whole Christmas season of this?" He asked hanging his head as he turned and walked away from us. I shook my head and bid Mister Lodge goodnight as I followed Archie.

*Christmas Eve*

It was now Christmas Eve, and our third and final day working, as we were almost ready for our lunch breaks. I had finished giving a little boy a candy cane and seeing him go to his parents when I noticed a little girl, about 6 with brown hair, standing by herself, holding a brown haired doll in a blue dress, near the entrance of the store that was like 30+ feet in front of me, with tears in her eyes.

*Is she lost?* I thought as I remembered her from not even an hour ago. She wanted a doll with red hair so her other doll could have a friend. I looked at Archie as he took a breather.

"I'll be back." I told him just as the phone rang for him to answer. I went straight up to the girl and knelt down to her hight.

"Hello there." I said to her in a sweet voice. She looked at me with her dark brown eyes.

*Those eyes look familiar. Why?* I thought as I smiled at her to comfort her.

"Are you lost?" I asked her as she nodded before speaking.

"I can't find my big brother." She said as I awed to myself on the inside at how adorable she was.

"Have no fear! Aria the elf is here!" I announced to her as I stood up and offered my hand to her.

"I can help you find him!" I said in a cheery voice as she smiled, eyes still watery, and took my hand. I decided to take her to where she last saw her brother heading off to.

"What's your name sweetie?" I asked her.

"Clarice." She told me as I smiled at her.

"That is such a pretty name." I told her sweetly.

"Thank you." She mumbled. I saw the toy section and looked at her.

"Ok. What does your brother look like?" I asked her.

"He's tall. Taller than you. He has Blond hair and brown eyes." She said to me.

"Ok. And what's his name?" I asked her. Before she could reply I heard someone behind me.

"Clarice! There you are." I looked over to the familiar voice to see Collins run up to her and hug her.

"Big brother." she said as she hugged him back. I was shocked. I didn't know Collins had a younger sister.

*That's why her eyes were familiar. She and Collins have the same eyes.* I thought as Clarice pulled back.

"My new friend was helping me find you. She's an elf." She said as he straightened up.

"Yes. Well. Thank you for finding her Mi-Aria?" He asked as he finally saw me. He looked shocked as he looked me up and down to see my elf costume.

"Hey Collins. You never told me you had an adorable little sister." I said to him. He was still flabbergasted to see me I guess.

"Wow. You know my big brother?" She asked me.

"We go to school together. I'm only an elf around Christmas time." I told her so I wouldn't crush her spirits. She smiled brightly.

"Oh! Your the girl my big brother talks about. The pretty red head with an angelic voice Aria!" She said as I blushed lightly. That seemed to snap him out of it.

"Clarice!" He scolded/whined.

"You should keep a better eye out for your sister. She was lost for a while." I said as I caught his attention.

"Yes. I know. I'm sorry. I expected to be done by the time she was. I guess I wasn't. Any ways thank you so much for taking care of her Aria." He said as I smiled at him.

"It's no problem." I told him.

"So? An elf? It's cute for you." He said as I gently blushed.

"Yeah. Earned enough money to finish gift buying for everyone else." I told him as he nodded.

"Can she be your girlfriend? She's even nicer and even prettier than you said." Clarice suddenly blurted out as we both blushed red. I started laughing right after words while Collins got redder.

"She's bold. That's good for a girl." I said as I laughed a bit more.

"Clarice! You don't ask questions like that." He said as she looked confused. I looked at my watch before I looked back at them.

"I have to go now. My lunch break is over." I mentioned as Collins and Clarice looked at me.

"Don't tell me you used your entire break to help Clarice find me." He said as I smiled at him.

"Ok. I won't tell you. But I will say it was no problem. Plus I wasn't going to leave her there crying." I said as Collins looked at me. Suddenly I felt two small arms cling onto my legs.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean for you to miss lunch because of me." She said with sadness in her voice. I swore she would start crying again. I pulled her away as I bent down and looked at her with a smile.

"It's ok. I'd rather help a child out than eat. I'm not hungry anyway." I told her as I then reached in my bag and pulled out a candy cane for her and then I pulled out a snowflake hair clip I had, that I didn't use, and clipped it in her hair.

"Merry Christmas little one." I told her as she felt the clip and smiled brightly. I stood up and hugged Collins lightly before handing him a candy cane as well.

"Merry Christmas Collins. Take care of your sister." I told him as he smiled at me.

"I will." He said as I headed back to work. I had failed to notice the eyes from the ceiling watching my every move from the point Clarice was lost to now. I had also failed to notice that Mister Lodge had seen me with Clarice in the toy section before Collins came up to us until now. Needless to say I made it back to Archie just in time for our breaks to be over and start up again. It was slow so it was fine. I only made it 15 minutes in before I felt a tug on my skirt. I looked down and saw Clarice holding out a cup of Coco before she held it up to me.

"My brother says Merry Christmas." She says as I smiled and took the cup from her.

"Thank you Clarice. And tell your brother I said thank you as well." I said as she smiled at me.

"I will." She said and then darted to the door where I saw Collins waiting for her. He smiled and lightly waved to me as he took his sister's hand, saw me gently wave goodbye with a bright smile on my face, and walk out the door. I looked at the Coco and smiled as I started drinking it.

"What was that about?" Archie asked me as I explained what happened and how I gave my favourite snowflake clip to Clarice to make her happy and show her I wasn't upset about missing my lunch at all. Archie smiled and we soon started dealing with kids again. Now it was the end of the day and Archie and I went into the back area to change into normal clothes. We, yet again, failed to notice the masked man above us pull back the ceiling tile to watch us. I wasn't sure how but I guess after I got changed and sat down I fell asleep. Oops. I woke up and looked out to see Archie get out as well.

"Man. Guess I must've dozed off." He said as I was now next to him.

"I did too." I simply stated.

"Oops. Almost forgot everyone's gifts." He said as he went to go back through the door.

"Wait for me Arch! I'll go with you." I said as I chased after him to grab my gifts and drop off the elf costume as well. We didn't realize that the lights went off in the main room nor noticed that we were locked in and left alone and forgotten while we made our way into the basement. Only when we came back up, gifts in arms, did we notice the lights off.

"Great. Someone turned off the lights. I can't see a thing." Archie said as I followed him, to my best abilities, to set the gifts down on a table before going to the front door.

"You don't think we got locked in and forgotten, do you?" I asked my cousin as I tried not to hit anything.

"Naw! They wouldn't forget us Aria! They're probably by the door waiting for us." Archie reassured me as I sighed. But when we got there we saw no one. Archie pulled on the door but it was locked.

"Oh no! The doors are locked!" he said in worry as he couldn't open the door. I went to the other set and pulled but they were locked as well.

"Help! Somebody! Anybody! Help! We're still in here!" I shouted but no one was around.

*It's Christmas eve! Duh! No one will be outside!* I thought as I turned, leaned my back against the door, and slid down the glass as I sighed. We were locked in a store on Christmas eve with no way out until probably after Christmas. Oh joy!

"Wonderful! We're stuck here over night." Archie sighed as he leaned against the door.

"Cousin. I hate to tell you but tomorrow's Christmas. Meaning the store's locked tomorrow." I told him as reality struck him.

"Oh no!" He shouted as he moved away from the door and started sweating. Soon he turned around and started banging on the door as I rested my head on my knees in a fetal position to try and stay calm. We soon heard a rustle as I looked up and saw nothing but the tree in front of us.

"What was that?" Archie asked as I shrugged.

"I dunno." I told him truthfully.

"Now I'm Hearing things. It can't get any worse than this." Archie said as I glared at him.

"Don't say that! Something bad will happen." I told him as he then got mad and turned around.

"We have all the luck. We're going to spend all of Christmas in a department store." He said as he leaned against a railing and his back turned to me. I then had an idea.

"Wait a minute! Archie! The phone! We can use the phone to call Veronica!" I nearly shouted as I jumped up and made a run towards the tree where I last was a phone. If it wasn't there then maybe at the customer service area.

"Great idea!" He perked up. He started walking to where I was when I picked up the phone from the chair and turned it on. At 1st I heard a line but then it clicked off. The line was _dead._

"Uh oh!" I said as I turned the phone off.

"What now." He said in a slightly annoyed voice.

"The lines dead." I told him as he groaned.

"It was worth trying." I muttered as I put the phone down.

"It _was_ a good idea Aria." He said as he put his hand on my shoulder to comfort me.

"But now everyone's going to be so busy eating and opening presents that no one will notice we're gone." Archie complained as he looked around. Presents. Idea.

"Archie. Follow me." I said as I grabbed him and pulled him towards the presents.

"What are you doing?" Archie asked as we stopped and I picked up a small red box with a green and silver bow on it.

"Aria?" Archie asked as I handed him the gift.

"Here Archie. It's not much. Since we're stuck here I thought I'd give you your gift now to make you feel better." I told him as his face softened before grabbing the gift from me.

"Aria. You didn't have to." He whispered as I smiled gently at him. He then set it down and smiled at me.

"I'll open it when we get out of here." He said as he pulled me into a hug. I smiled and hugged him back. I never liked seeing him upset. I liked it when he smiled. We had no idea that back at Veronica's three people were sitting on the couch looking depressed. Those three were Jughead, Betty and Veronica.

*Third POV At Veronicas*

The three were sitting there all depressed as Reggie walked in from the other room where the party was.

"What are you guys doing in here?" Reggie asked as he stopped next to them with his hands on his hips before talking again.

"There about to bob for apples on the veranda." As he used his thumb to point behind him. The three just sighed.

"We're waiting for Archie and Aria to show up." Betty said.

"Ah they're probably running late." He said with a scowl on his face.

"Come on Jughead. There's plenty of food on the buffet tables." Reggie spoke with a smile on his face. Jughead shook his head no before speaking.

"No. I always wait for Archie to give his Christmas toast, then I eat. It's Christmas tradition for me. I wanted Aria to hear it to." then he sunk his face into his fists again as he sighed. He really wanted to spend time with Aria as well. He was looking forward to eating with her. She never seemed to mind his sloppy eating and she enjoyed food just as much as him. Almost the whole town was here, except those who left for vacation or family emergencies like the group of guys except Collins and his family, enjoying everything. He wanted to see her face brighten up and her cheeks become rosy pink like they did when he complimented her or got to close to her. Reggie seemed to frown before it turned to a smile.

"What about you Veronica? Lots of presents under the tree for you." Reggie pointed out.

"Oh. Half the fun of opening them was having Archie-kins watching me open the presents." Veronica pointed out as she too sunk her face into her fists.

"He enjoys that so much." She said, barely above a whisper, as Reggie finally sighed.

"Make room for me." He said while moving his hands in a side to side motion. Betty and Jughead complied and moved aside so Reggie could sit in between them. He was soon in the same sad pose and state as the other three.

"Your right. Christmas just isn't the same without Archie. And I was hoping to see Aria as well." He said as all four sighed.

"Have you four seen Aria?" They heard as they looked up to see Collins, holding hands with a little girl, who looked around.

"Is she here big brother?" She asked him.

"No. Her and Archie aren't here yet. Did you meet her Clarice?" Betty asked. Betty knew Collins' sister Clarice. Sometimes she watched her when Collins either couldn't or wouldn't. Mostly couldn't. Clarice smiled brightly at Betty.

"Yeah! She's Santa's elf every Christmas. She's pretty too. She helped me find my brother at the store and even gave me this." She said as she pointed to the snowflake hair clip in her hair. It was big on her but just right for Aria.

*That's one of Aria's favourite hair pieces. She gave it to her? She's so kind and special.* Jughead thought.

"It looks very pretty on you." Betty complimented.

"Thank you." She said as she looked at Collins.

"Can we wait for her?" She asked him as he smiled at her.

"Why don't you go to the party and I'll get you when she's here. Ok?" He asked her as she nodded.

"Ok." She replied as she skipped back to the party. Once she was gone Collins' face became serious.

"Do you know where they are? Archie is never this late and he would've brought Aria with him." He asked and pointed out as all four shook there heads no. Collins then leaned against the wall and sighed.

"I'll wait then." He said as he sighed again.

*I'm worried about you. What could've happened?* Collins thought as all five sighed.

* Aria's POV*

Archie was sitting in the chair with his face leaning against his cheeks as he sighed.

"There's got to be some way out of here." He said lightly as I started gently pacing around. I didn't like just doing nothing. I was thinking of a way out.

"Maybe the vents?" I said towards Archie.

"No. The vents are high up." He said.

"Not in the basement area." I told him.

"We don't know where to go from there." He said as I sighed. He was right. We would either get lost or stuck up there. I had stopped pacing as I heard another set of foot steps.

"Huh?" I said as I caught his attention. He looked where I was looking as we both saw a cute little teddy bear walk around across the room from behind one of the counters.

*How is it moving? Are the batteries defective?* I thought to myself. But soon a toy robot followed suit.

"What the?" Archie muttered as he stood up in time to see the robot as well. Then we saw a doll and another robot. Archie covered his eyes.

"I don't know what's going on." He said as he removed his hand from his eyes before continuing his sentence.

"But I'm going to find out." I looked at him and saw him go to follow the toys.

"Wait for me. I'm coming to." I said as I quickly followed behind him. I didn't want to be alone in this store. We hid behind one of the counters and saw the four toys walk pat us, unknowingly, and go straight into the basement door before closing it.

*Why the basement?* I thought as Archie and I sneaked to the basement door before opening it and going inside.

"Oh well. Here goes nothing." Archie said, sounding worried, as I closed the door behind us. The hallway was long and creepy looking but at least it was lit up.

*This isn't _**so**_ bad.* I thought as I then clung on to Archie's arm a bit.

"Its ok." He said as we continued down to the nearest door on the left of us. We looked in through the tiny window just in time to see the robot toy that was last in line enter through some flaps inside the room. We looked at each other and nodded before sneaking into the room. It looked to be the storage area where they put all the Christmas and other holiday things. All in all it screamed 'Scary creepy I'm going to mess you up' all over the place. I held back a small whine as we continued to the flaps. We went through them and saw crates filled with many different things.

*Must be the loading area as well.* I thought as we looked all around us. I let go of Archie to have a better look. We didn't see much until I saw a man in red robes with a hood and a bronze mask surrounded by more toys in front of us. I gasped as he spoke.

"Welcome Archie Andrews and Aria Andrews. We've been expecting you. Please join us." He said as Archie also saw him in the middle of the sentence and gasped. Soon the toys were making there way to us as we took a couple steps back. Archie had his hands in front of him while I was scrunched up.

"Uh. No thanks." I said.

"I don't think so." Archie replied but we looked behind us and saw more toys.

"On second thought, don't mind if we do." Archie replied with a worried smile on his face as I looked back at the mysterious man and nodded yes. The mysterious man then used his finger to signal us to come towards him. We had no choice but to comply. Where was help when you needed it.

* 3rd POV At Veronica's*

Everyone was having fun except Veronica, Jughead, Reggie, Betty, and Collins. They had been there for an hour and still no Archie or Aria. They were all _**very**_ worried at this point. Clarice came in a few times and was starting to get sad not seeing Aria again. Betty had decided to go and call the house to see if Archie and/or Aria was there and if one of them would pick up. She tried three times before she came back.

"There's no answer at Archie's house. I'm starting to get really worried now." Betty said as Collins shot up.

"Something must've happened to them." He said. You could hear the worry in his voice clear as crystal.

"Veronica, dear, how did you convince Archie to not sing off key this year?" Veronica's father said as he appeared through the door.

"Actually, Archie's not here yet. Neither is Aria." Jughead said while shaking his head lightly. Mister Lodge walked up to the teens.

"Too bad. I hate to admit it but I was beginning to _enjoy_ those Christmas carols. I guess they grow on you." He said as Betty looked at all of them.

"They're not at home either." Betty mentioned.

"They have to be somewhere. I mean it's not like they got locked in a store right?" Collins said as Mister Lodge grew shocked.

"Well they were working in the store. I could've sworn everyone left when I locked up." He muttered as Veronica then lifted up from her seat and went to her father.

"Daddy. I'm really worried about Archie-kins. And Aria also. We need to look for them." She said.

"You're right. I guess Archie is like those Christmas carols. Annoying but you miss them when they're not around. Plus I like Aria. She's very kind." He said as Veronica grabbed both of her fathers hands before speaking.

"Well then everyone. Archie and Aria need us." She then let go of one of her father's hands and pulled him with the other as, those who were sitting stood up, followed Veronica's lead.

* Aria's POV*

The toys grabbed Archie by the back of his coat and threw him closer to the man, landing on his but in the process, as I kicked the toys away, trying not to break them, before they grabbed me by my braid and pulled me down.

"Ouch." I muttered as they dragged/tossed me next to my cousin.

"Who are you?" He asked as I got up to a sitting position to see the toys surrounding us.

"You can call me the Christmas Phantom." He said.

*Christmas Phantom?* I thought before he continued.

"According to legend, I was known as Chris Nicholas. The Lodge Department Store's Santa Clause." He said as the toys moved slightly away from us.

"I read about that. Years ago the place set on fire and only the basement survived it. This basement. You supposedly died in the fire." I said as he chuckled.

"Very clever Aria." He said as he chuckled again. I shuttered at that laugh as he continued.

"It has been 30 years since that tragedy. Forcing me to hide myself from human eyes." He said as he got up and started pacing around near us. Archie and I were soon to are feet as he paced around us and closer as well.

"Ever since then I've watched as how Christmas became nothing but greed and selfishness." He said as he stopped in front of us. He then put a hand on each of our shoulders' and continued to speak.

"For the past few days I've watched and marvelled at your generosity and kindness and warmth. And how you took time away from your needs to help a lost child." He said, mentioning me helping Clarice, as we both grew shocked. He was watching us.

"You two alone still posses the true spirit of Christmas. Archie Andrews and Aria Andrews." He said as he removed his hands form our shoulders.

"Well thanks. But it really isn't that big a deal." Archie said with a smile.

"It's true. It's just who we are." I replied also smiling. Maybe he wasn't a bad guy after all.

"And modest too. The only ones in Riverdale." He said as he made a hand gesture to show the entire out of view town.

"Riverdale. Bah Riverdale. Riverdale doesn't deserve Christmas." He said in anger.

"That's a bit harsh." Archie said.

"I agree. _Everyone_ deserves Christmas. Even Ebenezer Scrooge deserved a chance to celebrate it." I said as I sighed thinking about my favorite Christmas story.

"She's right. Riverdale deserves another chance. No Christmas is harsh." He said as The Christmas Phantom suddenly raised a finger in front of Archie's face, making him lean back, as the Phantom spoke again.

"No it isn't. That's why I'm going to take Christmas away from Riverdale."

"Take it away?" I asked as he nodded.

"Really?" My cousin asked sceptically.

"And how are you going to do that?" He asked with a smile on his face. It was clear that Archie didn't believe him at all. The Phantom then took out a book from his sleeve.

"With this book of spells that helped me bring all these inanimate objects to life." He said as he showed us the book.

"Wait! They're not running on batteries? But magic?!" I asked/yelped as he chuckled.

"Yes. And I'll let them take every trace of Christmas from Riverdale." He replied. Archie and I looked at the toys and then at each other and nodded before we looked back at the Phantom.

"Not if we can help it." We both said in a raised voice at the same time.

"Not if I can find a spell to stop you." Archie said snatching the book away as I then pushed The Phantom onto the floor.

"Sorry. But people need Christmas." I apologized as Archie and I made a run for it.

"And I thought you two of all people would understand. Archie and Aria Andrews." He muttered. We didn't hear him as we ran up the stairs. I let Archie go first since he had the book. I was behind him in case the toys followed they could get me first instead of him. The Phantom was near the stairs as he pointed to us.

"Bring them to me." He said as the toys moved in.

"Faster Archie! Faster!" I yelled as we quickened the pace. The door was shut tight so Archie rammed it open. Once he did the tree came to life and got in front of us.

"Oh come _**ON!**_ " I shouted in annoyance as we looked behind us and saw the toys getting closer. We started running.

"Out of my way you big sap." Archie yelled at the tree as he hit it hard enough to fling it back onto the toys behind us. Archie and I got to the clothes and hid in each part. I couldn't hear much, because Archie was muttering, but I did catch him saying back to normal. Then I peaked out and saw the tree found him.

"Sapling. I said you were big for a sapling. Really." He said as he was trapped. I ran out and rammed into the tree, knocking it down, as I grabbed my cousin by the wrist and dragged him down a different isle.

"Come on." I said as he then started to keep up on his own.

*3rd POV w/ the gang*

The teens and Mister Lodge were roaming the streets in a group shouting Archie's and Aria's name as loud as they could through the abandoned streets. Soon the group ran into Pop Tate.

"What's up folks?" Pop Tate asked them.

"Archie and Aria are missing." Betty told him with a worried look on her face. Pops grew shocked.

"That's terrible. I'll help you look." He said, volunteering to help.

"Remember when we had that bad storm last Christmas? Archie found an old hand radio so I could talk to my sister. He also used it to talk to Aria. Christmas just isn't the same without him. And I was hoping to share this with Aria as well." Pops said to them.

"We're beginning to realize that." Reggie said as they all continued to roam the streets and shout there names, hoping they weren't hurt or in danger. If anything happened to the cousins they knew and loved so much then they would feel horrible. They talked about food, gifts, money, sales and profits but never told them they liked spending time with them. They wouldn't get the chance to spend the usual Christmas with Archie and get to share it with Aria for the first time. They never shared the true Christmas spirit with them and tha'ts what hurt the most.

*Aria's POV*

We were still running from the tree and smashing through the toys to get to a safe spot and hope they wouldn't get us or the book. It wasn't long before we were stuck between bigger robotic toys and the tree. Archie dove left as I dove right just as the tree jumped and landed right where we used to be. Now we were split up. The toys chased me one way as the tree chased Archie. It seemed like they were purposefully keeping us apart. I was on the ground and about to be grabbed by a robot when I saw Archie swing from some tinsel and kick it, breaking it in the process, as he then ran by my side again.

"Thanks." I said.

"Thank me later." He said as we continued running for a bit longer. We made it to the doors and just as we were about to reach them a green glowing light appeared in front of us. We stopped and covered our eyes for a few seconds before it died down to reveal The Christmas Phantom. We both screamed as soon we had the tree behind us and the toys all around us. We were trapped.

"Oh no!" Archie yelled.

"Oh yes! Now nothing can stop me from taking Christmas away from Riverdale." The Phantom proclaimed. Before I could react Archie was on his knees in front of him.

"Don't do this. Please. Sure people have forgotten the true meaning of Christmas. But that doesn't mean they can't remember." Archie exclaimed.

"So? What's your point?" The Phantom asked, pointing a finger at my cousin, as Archie stood up and continued.

"Don't you see? If you take away Christmas then you take away there hope that maybe one day people will respect it more. And isn't that what Christmas is all about? Hope?" Archie asked him.

"Hope huh?" He asked as I butted in.

"It's true. If you take away Christmas then you take away hope. And without hope then they days would eventually be dark and tragic. Believe me when I say I've started to experience that." I told him from the bottom of my heart.

"Hm. All right. Okay Archie and Aria Andrews. I'll make you two a deal. I'll take away _**both**_ of your Christmas's while the rest of Riverdale keeps there's. We'll see how serious you two are about this." He said as he pointed towards us, making Archie back up to me more as I gasped.

"You mean?" He started asking as The Phantom spoke while moving his hands.

"That's right. No more presents to give nor receive. No more spending time with people or decorating or baking Christmas cookies. None of it. You two will spend your Christmas's alone. Without each other or anyone else. So what do you say? Do we have a deal?" He finished by crossing his arms over his chest. Was it worth it. My words flash back in my head of what I told the parents of that perverted kid. 'Everyone deserves a Christmas.' I then thought of Collins and Clarice, Geoff, Tyrone, Tyler, Jimmy, Ronin, Big Ethel, Moose and Midge, Veronica and her father, Betty, Aunt Mary, Uncle Bob, Pop Tate, and everyone else. Even Reggie. But most of all I thought of Dilton, who was excited any scientific proof of Santa like every year and Jughead when he was licking his lips and smiling about the food. The look on both of their faces when they had my cookies and waiting to enjoy this night. My heart ached more for those two the most. I sighed and looked at the Phantom.

"I agree." I said sadly.

"Aria." Archie said in a sad tone as I looked at him.

"I don't want you to not have a Christmas but I'm ok with it. Christmas was hard for me and your calls always helped. But I don't want anyone else's Christmas taken away. Everyone deserves a Christmas Archie. Even if we don't get one." I said as I sighed. I thought about the small bag of cookies I left with the presents and looked at them sadly.

"All I wanted this year was to give some cookies to Santa Clause and tell him sorry for what my parents did with the other cookies every year. If I have to give that up for everyone then." I said as I then looked up as one tear fell down my face.

"I gladly will." I said to him. Archie looked at me with sadness before he looked straight at the Phantom.

"I agree as well. Even if Aria and I can't see nor talk to each other on Christmas to spread the cheer we both know we love each other enough. I agree as well." He said as I looked at him in shock. He was right. As long as we cared for each other and the people around us then the spirit will never truly die out.

"But I keep the book." Archie told him. The Phantom began glowing and disappearing before he spoke.

"Sure. Consider it a present. Read it sometime. It's a Christmas classic." He said as he vanished. The tree and toys went back to there original places soon enough.

"Huh? A Christmas classic?" Archie asked.

"What did he mean by that?" I asked out of curiosity. I peaked over his shoulder as we both saw the book.

"A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. He tricked us?" Archie said out loud. How could we miss that? And how ironic that I had earlier mentioned this was my favorite Christmas story. We soon went for the door and saw it was unlocked.

"Oh well. At least he unlocked the door for us." I said as he nodded.

"There they are." We heard Pop Tate's voice as we looked over to the voice and saw Pops, Reggie, Betty, Veronica and her father, Jughead, and Collins run straight for us.

"Archie-kins." Veronica yelled in delight as she hugged him.

"Aria!" I heard Jughead as he hugged me before I was hugged by Collins as well.

"We've looked everywhere for you two." Mister Lodge said, as Veronica let him go, as we looked at him and then the rest of the group.

"You were looking for us instead of enjoying your Christmas Eve party? I'm sorry we ruined it for you. Archie said as I finally got air in my lungs from the suffocating hug.

"I'm sorry too." I apologized as well.

" Hey buddy. Christmas just isn't the same without you." Reggie said to Archie as he then turned to me.

"And knowing you and Aria are safe makes it a good Christmas." He said as I smiled at that. Jughead let me go as he went to Archie.

"It's good to have you back pal." He said.

"We're just glad your ok." Pops said to us.

"We missed you Archie-kins." She said as she kissed him on the cheek. Then Betty tapped her shoulder as she looked at her and moved away so she could hug him to. She then hugged him and kissed his cheek as well. Collins looked at me.

"I'm glad to see both of you safe. I was really worried about you. So was Clarice." He told me as I blushed a soft pink.

"I'm sorry to worry you." I said and would've continued had he not put his finger on my lips to hush me.

"As long as your safe and unharmed. That's all I wanted for Christmas." He said as he removed his finger from my lips and we smiled at each other. I then turned to look at the others. They all looked so happy. I was glad Archie and I didn't have to give up our Christmas's after all. I then thought about it. This book, The magic of the toys and tree, he knew our names and knew of our good deeds, Chris Nicholson? Saint Nicholas. Chris Cringle.

"No way." I muttered.

"What?" Collins asked me.

"I'll be right back." I said as I then bolted back inside and headed to the gifts. Archie excused himself and soon followed suit. I didn't hear Mister Lodge tell Archie he wouldn't complain if he sang to the carols. Archie went to grab the gifts but I stopped him.

"No. The basement. I think I figured out who the _real_ Christmas Phantom is." I told him as I grabbed his wrist and the bag of cookies before heading down into the basement.

"What do you mean?" Archie asked me.

"Archie. He knew our names, he knew of our deeds, he could do magic." I said as he wasn't getting it right away. I just groaned as we made it back to the basement room where it all started. We saw him reading a long list. Seriously. If he didn't figure it out by now I was going to smack myself.

"I gotta know." Archie whispered as I smacked myself on the forehead. He _was_ that dense. Archie sneaked up on him and tackled him to the ground as I went for the mask.

"Alright. I'll admit it _was_ a bit fun Santa Clause." I said as I pulled the mask off to reveal Santa himself.

"No way! It can't be!" Archie yelled in shock as he flung himself off of Santa.

"Afraid so Archie." Santa said as I helped him up off the ground.

"You don't expect me to believe that your the real Santa Clause." Archie said as Santa undid the robes to reveal his outfit under it.

"Seriously Archie. I mean the clues are obvious now. Plus you wanted a weird mystery for Christmas." I said as Santa smiled.

"It's True Archie. And what better mystery then a Christmas Phantom. You believe in ghosts, werewolves and even aliens. Why is it hard to believe the real Santa Clause would come to Riverdale?" He said

"It's one of your stops. Every town, village, and home around the world is." I said as he then laughed.

"Exactly Aria." He agreed.

"Also your friends needed a lesson on the true meaning of Christmas. And a Christmas without you two did the trick." He said as he then scooped both of us into a hug. I smiled and hugged back as Archie did as well.

"Thanks Santa. This was the best weird mystery yet." Archie said as Santa laughed and let us go.

"Hey. Does Santa deliver or what?" He said while bending down to pick up his list. He then started walking over to his bag.

"Well. I've got my list so now I've got to go. I still have more presents to deliver." He said as he picked up his bag and was about to leave.

"Wait. Santa. You forgot my Christmas wish." I said as I rushed up to him with a small fancy hand made bag filled with sugar cookies, ginger snaps, and gingerbread men. He then turned to me and smiled.

"Oh yes. That's right. You wanted to give me cookies for the trip as an apology for your parents. Its alright though. I knew you were sorry every Christmas. I've never been mad nor disappointed at you for it." He said as I handed him the cookies.

"Still. Even a hard working man deserves a gift." I said with a smile as he smiled back.

"Thank you Aria. I always knew you were extra kind. Keep it up. Both of you." He said the last part to both of us as we smiled and nodded.

"I must be going now. Goodbye kids." He said as he said as he then left. We followed him out just in time to see the light glow disappear. We both smiled as we quickly went back upstairs, grabbed our gifts, and went out to meet the group waiting for us.

"Here. Let us help you with those." Pops said as he, Mister Lodge, Collins, Reggie and Jughead grabbed all the gifts from us. We both looked up as the snow was falling.

"It's snowing." Archie said in happiness as I then spun around and laughed while looking up at the sky before I stopped and saw something in the sky.

"Look." I said as I pointed to it. Everyone looked to where I was pointing and saw the outline of Santa's sleigh being pulled by the reindeer.

"Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas!" Santa said as I smiled even brighter and waved at Santa.

"Huh? He _is_ real?" Reggie said in shock as I giggled.

"See? Told you he was real!" I said in pure happiness. We soon made it back to the Lodge house and enjoyed the party. I got Veronica a pair of earrings and Betty as well. I got Collins new football cleats, Reggie some coal candy as a joke before handing him his real gift. It was a nice gold watch. I got Archie an alien invaders alarm clock and watch set that he always wanted. I gave Jughead his gift as he opened it.

"A cook book?" He asked as I nodded.

"Yeah. So you can try different foods. Also look inside the book." I told him as he did and gasped. It was a movie pass, that starts next year, unlimited uses of movie viewings at the theater for a year.

"How did you?" He asked as I smiled.

"Well turned out that little kid who thought it would be funny to look up my skirt's uncle runs the theater and I paid a decent deal for it as an apology." I told him as he then lunged at me and hugged me. I yelped as he thanked me. I got some stuff too. Betty gave me The Wolfman, Frankenstein, Dracula, and The Mummy 4 pack book set. Veronica got me a lovely purple dress that sparkled with shoes to match. (It looks like a darker shade of Ariel's sparkled purple dress she wore in the end.) Reggie gave me a couple antique Candelabras. I loved them. Collins gave me sterling silver earrings. Clarice gave me a silver necklace, that matched the earrings, and said her brother helped her get it to give me. I smiled and hugged her. Jughead gave me the complete collection of Friday the 13th the TV series. I was shocked because it was hard to find. I hugged him and thanked him. Finally Archie gave me my gift. I opened it to find a Nutcracker version of the mouse king. I nearly teared up as I hugged him and thanked him. All in all Christmas Eve was wonderful. We went home later that night and typed up the column.

"There's nothing wrong with gifts and a big fancy dinner. But the best part about Christmas is spending time with the ones you love and care for. ~Archie. To make people smile and Appreciate the people in your life. ~Aria. That's something we will always remember and try to do….In a little town called Riverdale. ~Archie and Aria." In the morning we went down stairs to see Aunt Mary and Uncle Bob and do the usual Christmas stuff. Opened gifts, take pictures, eat breakfast, play games, watch movies all of it. Even play in the snow. At the end of the day Archie and I decided to go to bed. It was fun. A Christmas I will never forget and always treasure in my heart.


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Zombies Of Love!

*Aria's POV*

It was almost 3:30pm in Riverdale and after school was getting out soon. We all celebrated New Years together and had a bit of time off before going back to school. Now it was the beginning of February and it looked like spring was here already. It was nice enough to wear tank tops and shorts again. Not me. I stuck with the outfit I 1st arrived here in. Archie and I worked together to finish up a 'weird mystery' column for the paper. I will admit it was a good one. Either way we met up with Betty and Jughead when we finished and headed outside. They were discussing a project that needed to be done.

"How about we study together?" Betty asked.

"Sure." Jughead said nonchalantly.

"Sounds good." Archie replied.

"I'm out." I stated. Jughead and Archie both said "Huh?" and looked at me.

"How come?" Betty asked.

"I promised Dilton I'd meet him after school so we can get out science homework done for next week and he also promised to help me study for my french exam coming up." I explained as they nodded. We soon made it outside.

"So we'll have a study group tomorrow then?" Archie asked the two.

"Sure. Should I call and invite Reggie?" She asked as I scowled at the question.

"Only if you _have_ to." Jughead said as I chuckled lightly. No body really liked Reggie but it confused me as to why we were friends with him. Soon enough trouble walked our way wearing a $200 dress. AKA: Veronica Lodge.

"And just _where_ have you been Archie Andrews? You were supposed to meet me here at 3:30 **sharp!** " She said in an annoyed and angered tone.

*Oh boy! This again. She's been like this for a couple of weeks now.* I thought as Archie looked at his watch then at her.

"Um. Veronica? It's only 3:31." He said as I flinched. I know what's going to happen now. As she ranted on about being there on time I managed to slip away to look for Dilton.

*What is Veronica's problem? I mean seriously has being rich made her _this_ selfish?* I thought as I sighed. I soon found Dilton and rushed right up to him.

"Hey Dilton!" I yelled and waved as I ran up to him.

"Salutations Aria. You ready to go?" He asked as I nodded. He didn't have a car and I wasn't going to ask Archie right now nor use my skates so we walked. Our first stop was at Pop's to get a bite to eat and study my french there before heading back to the school for the science stuff.

"How come we don't study at your house?" I asked him.

"Oh. Well. I don't really have people over. But maybe another time." He said in an awkward way while rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

I just smiled and replied "I get it. Whenever your comfortable. No rush. I won't even let Archie go in my room unless I _really_ need him to and that's not often." adding in that confession to make him feel better. I guess it did because he smiled at me.

We arrived at Pop's and went inside. We waved at Pops, who waved back at us, as we took a seat at a booth in the middle of the place. I pulled out my french study books just as Pops came up to us.

"Hey kids. What can I get you?" He asked us.

"Got any specials today Pops?" I asked him casually but nicely.

"Well I do have curly fries today." He said as I smiled.

"Could I have that and a burger please? And some nachos with extra jalapeños?" I asked as I remembered them from looking at the menu a few days ago. Pops smiled.

"Of course. I was wondering when you'd want to try the nachos. And the usual coke no ice?" He said and then asked as I nodded.

"And you Dilton?" he asked as Dilton thought about it.

"I'll take a burger as well along with curly fries and a coke please." He said as Pops smiled at us.

"Coming right up." He said as he left.

"Shall we get started then?" I asked as he nodded yes. I hand him my book and we began.

"Okay. Let's start with 'Hello. My name is Aria. What is your name?'" He told me as I smiled at him.

"Bonjour. Mon nom est Aria. Quel est votre nom?" I answered.

"Correct. Next. 'I am looking for a nice place to eat. Any suggestions?'" He said as I thought about that one for a couple minutes before responding with "Je cherche un bel endroit manger. Tout suggestions?" I replied as Dilton nodded his head yes.

"That's right. Let's keep going." He said as I nodded. We did a few more before our food came. We were eating and practising before we were interrupted.

"Hey Pickle. Give me some money for nachos." I looked up and saw a rugged looking teen with dirty blond shaggy hair, a bad shadow beard, wearing a light brown jacket with a white shirt under it and a gold chain around his neck, two white bands on each arm, khaki short pants, black boots and white socks. Dilton looked a bit scarred and shook his head.

"S-sorry. B-but I don't h-have money for y-you." He stuttered. Did this guy bully Dilton and if so for how long.

"What a load of crap! How are you paying for this food then." He started. Now I was getting mad.

"W-well. I. Uh." Dilton said getting nervous.

"I'm paying for his meal and I would appreciate it if you left him alone." I said.

"Hey butt out yo-ouzah!" He started before he saw me. His eyes looked like they would pop out of there sockets. Before I could blink he was sitting next to me and an arm around me. Seriously, what is up with guys and putting there arms around me without my conceit?

"Hey babe. How about you buy me some nachos?" He asked as he smiled at me. He screamed abuser and other things that I didn't like. I pushed him away from me.

"Uh no. Trying to study and eat with my friend. Maybe when you don't look like a bum, smell bad, and don't scream 'bad guy' and learn boundaries and manners then maybe." I stated as I ate a curly fry. Man these fries were good.

"Aw come on babe. Give me a chance. Aw you did get me nachos." He said as he then grabbed my nachos and went to eat them. I grabbed the nachos from him and used my foot to put on his arm and push him off the booth seat and onto the floor.

"No touchy my food." I said in a childish voice as I sat my leg back down.

"What was that for? Come on babe." He started before Dilton stepped in.

"Vinnie your 19 years old and still in high school. She's only 15. I believe this would fall under paedophilia." He said before the guy known as 'Vinnie' glared at him.

"Shut up pickle. This does not concern you." He started.

"Actually it does seeing as how this whole thing started with you bullying my friend. And his name is Dilton not pickle. Plus he is right about the paedophilia thing. Your 19 and I'm 15. And don't call me babe or try to take my food. Also if I ever hear you threaten him or see you bully him again I will personally step in and make you stop." I told him as he glared darkly at me.

"Are you threatening me?" He asked me darkly.

"Nope! I'm making a promise!" I said with a bright smile before I waved my hand in front of him with a 'shooing' motion.

"Now off with you. Go on. Go before I have make you leave myself." I said as he growled.

"You shouldn't get me mad babe." He said as I rolled my eyes and looked at him with a dull look.

"Please. I've dealt with guys bigger and meaner then you back in the city. Heck even a 'puppy' is more intimidating then you are." I said as he got angrier. Before anything else happened Pops came over.

"Is everything alright?" He asked as he glared at Vinnie before looking at us.

"Yes. Everything is fine. He was just leaving." I said with a smile as Vinnie growled again before storming off.

"May I have the bill Pops?" I asked sweetly as he nodded and handed me the bill.

"I'll check on you two later." He said as he left. I put the bill aside and we continued eating.

"So who was that guy? I mean now I know his name is Vinnie and that he's 19 but not much else. Wait. Did you say he was in high school?" I asked the last part skeptically.

"His name is Vinnie Wells. He's 19 yes and he failed senior year of high school so he got held back a year. He's been bullying me and a few others for a long time. He's a bully, a thief, and now he's become scum flirting with you. I would be careful around him though. He's no joke Aria. He might severally hurt you." He said as I scoffed.

"I can handle him. Cheese. He makes Reggie look like a _saint_ in comparison. Dairy milk if Reggie ever heard that I would _**never**_ hear the end of it." I said as Dilton laughed lightly.

*Dilton's laugh is kinda cute.* I thought to myself.

"Still Vinnie is no joke. Just be careful please. He might seek revenge on you." He warned me.

"I will." I told him with a smile. We finished our food and, true to my word, I paid for the bill. Dilton wanted to pay but I told him it was my treat as a thank you for the times he's helped me out with school work. We were leaving, sun setting, when Archie, Betty and Jughead walked in. I smiled and waved at them, Dilton did to, as they waved back. Everyone missed the look Dilton and Jughead briefly gave each other before going separate ways. Dilton and I made it to the school and did our science stuff for a couple hours. It was dark and Dilton didn't want me to go home alone but I told him I was fine. I walked with him down his street and waved goodbye as I went down a different street. I found a spot to put on my skates and skated all the way home with no problems at all but kept my guard up in case Vinnie was near by. I'd have to keep my guard up more so then needed. When I got home I noticed Archie's car was still gone.

*Is he still out? It's kinda late.* I thought as I shrugged and went inside.

*Time skip to morning.*

I was running late for school.

*Dairy farm Archie. You could've waited for me.* I thought as I skated as fast as I could to the school. I sped past a very pissed off Vinnie and hurried inside. I made it into homeroom and took my seat. I took my skates off and put them away just in time for the bell to ring. I noticed Archie paying attention to Veronica and got mad. How dare he leave me at home to run late just to tend to her. I immediately went over to them.

"Archie Andrews you could've waited for me before coming to school. You know I need you as a ride." I told him as he looked at me. The way he looked made me nervous. He looked like a zombie and I didn't know why.

"Sorry. Your not my responsibility. If your so desperate for a ride then ask one of your boyfriends or get a car yourself. The only woman I ever want to care and tend for is my beautiful Veronica." He said as I huffed at that, trying not to shed tears, as I glared at him.

"Fine. I don't need you." I said as I sat back down. Jughead immediately came over to comfort me.

"What's wrong with him Jughead. I don't get it. Did I do something wrong?" I asked. I felt him gently hug me.

"No. You did nothing wrong. Betty thinks Veronica did something to him. Betty said Archie was at Veronica's house this morning singing to her. To be honest I think he was there all night because Betty didn't see him come home at all last night." He confessed as I looked at him. Archie never came home. But why?

"I smell a weird mystery Jughead and I don't like the looks of this one at all." I told him as I quoted my cousin's 'I smell a weird mystery' quote.

"You think so?" He asked me as I nodded.

"I know so." I told him. The bell rang and we were off again. In every class I had with him he was either with Veronica, giving her comfy chairs to sit in, foot rubs, doing her work for her ext., or he went to her class instead of his. At lunch when I ate with Jughead I noticed him in a chef hat and apron while serving her steak.

"What is wrong with you Archie?" I mumbled. Jughead comforted me as I tried very hard to figure this out. I had been trying to figure this out all day and came up with nothing except a spell. I had no leads other than that.

*Next day*

Okay. Archie wasn't doing so good now. He has been acting up for a second day now and the only thing I know from Betty and Jughead is that it happened at Pop's shop after Dilton and I left and it happened around the time he ate a burger and it had something to do with Veronica.

*I'm heading down to that Voodoo Lady and see if she knows anything about this.* I thought as I then saw Archie give Veronica a pillow. Wait. Why was he wearing a beanie. Then he took it off.

*What did he do to his hair!* I thought as I overheard him say "All I have is yours Veronica." before Veronica dropped the pillow and ran off. I hope he didn't put his hair in that pillow.

Archie soon chased after her as I picked up the pillow and opened it. I soon saw orange hair spill out and gasped. He did.

"This has gone too far." I said as I decided to get to the bottom of this. School was over and I immediately headed down to see that Voodoo Lady to see what's up. Without a car it took me a few hours to get down to the forest. I had to take off my skates to walk to her place. Let's just say it was near 4 AM when I arrived. I was greeted by a dog who started meowing at me? What the?

*Right. Voodoo. Magic.* I thought as she walked outside.

"What you want?" She asked me.

"I need help." I told her.

"come in." She said as I followed her inside. I explained what was happening to my cousin and she told me about the magic salt.

"Makes sense. My friends said he ate a burger and then acted this way. She must've used the salt on it. But how do I stop this?" I asked her. Just as I did Veronica started pounding on the door crying out "Miss Lucinda. Wake up. It's me Veronica." as Miss Lucinda got up and went to open the door.

"Speak of the devil and she shall come forth." I said as Miss Lucinda looked at me before opening the door.

"It's four AM. What do you want?" she said. Yeah I'd be pissed as well over being woken up at 4 AM but this is an emergency.

"I've been up all night hiding. Archie won't leave me alone." I heard Veronica say. I quietly stood up and got ready. I was going to strangle her for this. No joke.

"So? Things got a little _too_ perfect for ya huh?" She asked her. I couldn't see her face but I could tell by the tone in Miss Lucinda's voice she was smiling a cocky smile at her.

*I like this woman already.* I thought to myself.

"He may have followed me. Please let me in." She begged. Miss Lucinda opened the door all the way.

"Oh alright." She said as she used her thumb to point inside.

"Your friend is already inside anyway." She said as Ronnie looked at her, completely missing me from her sight.

"Huh? Friend?" She asked as I then grabbed her neck with my hand. She gasped and looked at me.

"Aria?" She asked as I glared at her.

"You put my cousin's health at risk just to make him 'perfect'? He was fine the way he was. He has not slept nor ate in two days Veronica. He's going to kill himself from starvation, dehydration and/or sleep deprivation because of you." I said as I glared at her.

"Your friend's right. Then when he dies you'll have a _real_ love zombie after you." She said as Ronnie gasped.

"Wait what?" I questioned in shock as I let go of Ronnie.

"You heard me right Missy." She said as my jaw dropped. A _real_ zombie? Great. Just great.

"What do I do?" Ronnie asked. Miss Lucinda sat down and looked at us.

"I already told you the cure." She said.

"Wait. You _know_ how to stop it and you didn't do it?" I questioned as I tried to keep my cool.

"But if I go back to that school and ring the bell then he'll find me." Ronnie whined as I groaned.

"I'll help you distract him but I'm not doing it for you. I'm doing it for him." I told her.

"Sounds like a plan. But 1st I need that salt back." Miss Lucinda said as she held out her hand. Veronica dug into the pocket of the coat she took off but then looked scared.

"I-I don't have it. I must've left it a Pop's Shoppe." She said in fear.

"What?!" Me and Miss Lucinda yelled at the same time.

"You left it where other people could taste it?" She yelled the question.

"Veronica you idiot!" I screamed. I was starting to loose my cool.

"I forgot." She said as she looked about ready to cry. I cooled down and started to comfort her.

"It's ok. I might've forgotten it out of fear as well." I told her trying to calm her down.

"Do you know what this means? Soon a whole new batch of people will be devoted to you." Miss Lucinda said as we gasped. On no. Soon we heard banging sounds and people groaning Veronica's name.

"You need to ring that bell." I said as Miss Lucinda and I started to barricade the place up.

"But. But I'm scared." She said as she tried not to cry.

"You only have until sunrise to ring the bell otherwise they will stay like this forever." Miss Lucinda said as they started to bang on the windows harder.

"Is there a back door?" I asked as she pointed to it. I grabbed Veronica's wrist, yanked her up, and went to the back door just as a window broke.

"She'll pay for that." I yelled as I yanked open the back door and forced Ronnie to run with me to the school.

"There she is." I heard Jughead say from a distance.

*Oh Jughead.* I thought as I looked and saw all of them. Jughead, Archie, Betty, Reggie, Pops, a few other kids, even Dilton.

*Not you too Dilton.* I thought as I picked up the pace.

"Ronnie. Run dang it. We don't have much time." I told her.

"I can't." She started.

"Don't say you can't. I'm sick and tired of your rich girl snobby attitude. If you really care for my cousin then hurry it up." I told her as she then picked up the pace. I let her wrist go as we ran non stop there. It didn't take long, thanks to a few short cuts, before we made it there.

(The only reason why it took me longer before was because not only was I taking my time but I also tried to keep an eye on Veronica and Archie before loosing both of them. Also I kinda got lost going up there…..twice.)

But once we got there Veronica was grabbed by Reggie.

"Veronica! I can't live without you." He said as she pulled away from him and pushed him to the ground. We started running and got jumped by more love zombies. I pushed them out of the way as Veronica grabbed the rope to the victory bell. She pulled it but the rope broke.

"GREAT! FUDGING GREAT!" I yelled in pure anger as I grabbed her and ran up the stairs with her. We got jumped by Jughead as she pushed back into the locker he popped out of.

*I'm sorry Jughead.* I thought as we continued. I pushed a couple out of the way as I saw Ronnie get distracted by Betty, who was giving Ronnie her sweater, before she snapped out of it and continued running. I quickly followed behind as I helped her reach the top.

"Veronica. Hurry. The sun's almost up." I told her as we saw the sun starting to rise. As she ran for the bell Archie popped up from the vent. Veronica screamed as I looked in horror. Archie looked terrible. He was pale, had bags under his eyes, and he looked both starved and dehydrated. He was talking to her and coughing but I couldn't make it out. I got in front of Veronica and and pinned Archie to the ground.

"Veronica. It's now or never. Hurry." I yelled at her as Archie barely put up a struggle. He was so weak.

"Oh Archie-kins. I'm so sorry." She said as she then ran to the bell. She didn't get far though because she was surrounded. I then felt arms grab me and yank me up.

"I've got the traitor. We adore you Veronica. We want to stay with you forever." I heard the voice of Reggie behind me.

"Archie. You adore Veronica don't you?" I heard Ronnie ask.

"I adore Veronica." I heard him say.

"And you'd do anything for me right?" She asked.

"Anything for you Veronica." He replied. What was she getting at?

"Then if you'd do anything for me then please ring that bell." She said.

*Oh I get it now. Miss Lucinda didn't say Veronica _specifically_ had to ring the bell. Wait. If she didn't have to then I could've. Oh well. Learning experience for her.* I thought.

"Anything for Veronica." I heard Archie say as he went to the bell. Reggie let go of me ad went to stop Archie while everyone was screaming at him to stop. Before Reggie could stop him Archie rang the bell just as the sun rose. Soon everyone was out of that love zombie spell and I sighed in relief. Archie looked much better and soon everyone was asking questions.

"Aria." I heard Jughead say as he came over to me.

"Magic salt caused everyone to be love zombies for Ronnie. Except me because I didn't eat it." Jughead grew confused.

"You'll read it in the article." I simply told him as he nodded. I saw Veronica hugging and kissing and saying things like "Your back. Your alright." And "I'm glad your back to yourself." She sputtered out.

So we all went home and I made sure Archie was alright. He was very tired, hungry and thirsty but that was normal. After Archie ate and drank we started getting ready for school. Once school was over we went home to type up the article.

"This article is going to be hard to write since I don't remember anything that happened.~Archie. Veronica agrees with me and we both told Archie that he was a real pain.~Aria. I guess that if any relationship becomes _too_ obsessive then it's not fun any more.~Archie. I guess what he's trying to say is too much of a good thing really _is_ a bad thing.~Aria. But everything is back to normal now.~Archie. Except you won't be going to the barber any time soon.~Aria. ….In a little town called Riverdale.~Archie and Aria."

We ended the article and went to bed. Thank goodness it was Friday night. We can both get some rest. Archie more so than me.


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Valentine's Day Mini Special!

* Aria's POV*

It's Friday and it's Valentine's Day! I hated this holiday for so many reasons. Market for candy and stuffed toys and cards, showing someone you love them everyday and more so on an anniversary then just this day, technically celebrates two horrible events taken place on this day, and the fact I usually don't get admirers let alone one friendly card. I usually got anti cards that would say mean things like I'm fat or stupid or I don't deserve a heart. I usually ignored them. Also a dance tonight where a date was not required but good to have. Archie and I got to the school and Archie convinced me to get everybody a card, which I did to my annoyance, and had them in my bag. I opened my locker and just as I did a bunch of confetti popped out onto me, making me shriek in surprise, as I opened my eyes and saw the rig for the bomb.

"Okay. Talk about a wake up call." I said as I put some of my stuff in my locker and closed it. I was shaking confetti out of my hair as I headed to home room. Even when I got there I was still getting it out of my hair. I leaned over the trash bin and was having a hard time with this. Great.

"Here. Let me help." I heard Betty's voice as I felt a comb go through my hair.

"Thanks Betty. Someone thought it was a good idea to rig my locker with a confetti bomb. Woke me right up." I told her as she combed all the confetti out of my hair.

"Your welcome." She said as we sat down. We didn't have to do much since we had the concert to attend, well I'm performing but still, so all day was basically a free day. Through most of the day I handed out cards to people and they gave me cards right back. Reggie gave me, Betty, and Veronica red rose bouquets and tried to get us to kiss him. We turned him down. I got to choir class to prep up, we got to miss gym class to because of this, when I got bombarded in hugs by the boys.

"Happy Valentines Day Aria!" The boys shouted as I barely managed to wiggle free, glad I put Reggie's roses in my locker, and looked at them.

"Guys this is not that big of a holiday. I'm just not into it." I told them as they looked crest fallen a bit.

"So your not going to the dance?" They asked me.

"Oh I'll go. Most likely without a date but I'll go. Also happy about the concert but this holiday isn't really for me." I explained to them.

"We still got you stuff." Tyrone said as they huddled around me to give me large bouquets of flowers, all different kinds that made me feel like I was in a jungle, chocolates, and cards. I just sighed as I handed them cards.

"Sorry. But like I said I'm not really into this holiday." I told them.

"Anything from you is wonderful Aria. Not a lot of people celebrate this holiday so we understand." Tyler explained as I smiled at them. The teacher prepared us and I was able to go to my locker to put my gifts away before heading down to the cafeteria. After lunch my day went by smoothly. Near the end of the day we sang our Love songs for the concert and that was that. The concert was a hit. The boys wanted to escort me to the dance and I said okay and that we would go as friends. I didn't realize how sad the boys were to hear friend part instead of dates but ya know. This didn't happen to me often.

I made it to Archie's car where he was waiting for me.

"Hey Aria. You got a gift here for you." He said as I put all the other stuff in the back and looked at him. He pointed to the gift as I looked at it. I gasped at the sight of it. It was a bouquet of rare Japanese Egret Orchids (In case you don't know its a pure white orchid that looks like a crane. . just to see.) with a bunch of green leaves and vines all around it inside a purple sparkled vase. I notices a stuffed Peregrine Falcon with a card in it's beak.

I went over to the passenger's side and took the card that read 'Aria' on it.

"I wonder who it's from?" I said as I took the card out of the envelope and looked at it. It was a heart with wings and a halo on it. I opened it and read it out loud.

"Aria,

Your hair is as fiery as your spirit.

Your crystal blue eyes are as soft and open as your mind is of learning.

Your voice is loud enough to break down barriers but as gentle as a breeze.

When you sing, it's as if the sun shines it's golden rays brightly upon your angelic form.

Your heart is of the purest of gold, nay, a diamond.

It shines brightly and forms perfectly to create a perfect you.

Maybe one day I shall work up the courage to tell you my feelings in real life.

For now I shall remain as mysterious as the universe.

~ Your Secret Admirer"

I finished and awed at the end.

"Wow that was cheesy." Archie said as I shot him a look.

"Oh yeah? Bet you can't think of anything as creative as this." I challenged him. He looked at me and then sighed as he shook his head.

"Naw. Not that good. Wow. Whoever wrote that must really like you a lot." He said as I flushed a deep red. I moved the flowers and stuffed bird in the back with the rest and hopped in the car as we headed home. Once we did we saw a heart shaped balloon tied to yet another bouquet of flowers in a vase. I sighed as I went to it.

"I'll get the rest." He said.

"No I got it. I just want to see this first." I said as I grabbed it.

"It's ok just open the door." He said as I grabbed the stuff, saw a stuffed lion with a card on it so I grabbed those as well, and opened the door as we made our way into the kitchen.

"Hello kids. Oh? What's all this?" Aunt Mary asked us as I smiled at her.

"Hi Aunt Mary. Some of the guys at school got this stuff for me. Well one I got in the car from a secret admirer and I found this in front of the door so I'm about to see who it's from." I said.

"Oh? Secret admirers? I think I should be a little worried." I heard Uncle Fred (Author's note: And yes it's Fred. I know I called him Bob twice and I'm sorry for that. I was tired when I was finishing up.) say as I rolled my eyes and looked at him.

"Don't worry Uncle Fred. I'm sure it's just a phase they're going through." I said as Archie rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Just read the card already." He said as I looked at him. I looked over the bouquet. It was black roses and purple lilacs, both my favourite for the uniqueness and colours I love, with green luscious leaves in a white thin vase with a purple and black ribbon and bow on it in glitter. The balloon was a heart of pink and red with white lace décor and in gold says 'I Love You!' on it.

I opened the card and it was also a heart but it was Gothic style with a raven and a ribbon on it. The ribbon read 'Aria' on it as I opened the card to read it aloud.

"Aria,

You are as brave as a knight.

You are as strong as a mare.

Your smile is as bright as a ray of light.

You're full of kindness and care.

You're sweeter than sugar but as fiery as curry.

You're as graceful as a swan but as swift as a coursing river.

You're smile send my heart beat in a hurry.

Your more appealing then a plate of onions and liver.

You are the most beautiful creature in this enchanted garden.

You are protected and hurt by many thorns.

So if you would be begging my pardon.

Maybe someday I will free you my lovely unicorn.

~ Your Secret Admirer.'"

My Aunt and I awed while Archie made a gag sound.

"I think this one was cheesier than the last one." He said as I shot him a look.

"Your just upset that I got poetry and you didn't. Besides, as cheesy as they both were, they were both very sweet and unique." I said as I smiled at the card.

"Yup. Sounds like I need to be an over protective Uncle." Uncle Fred said as I laughed lightly.

"I don't even know who gave these to me. I can tell that it's two separate people but I'm not sure who at all." I confessed as I shrugged.

"Oh well. Might as well get ready for the dance." I said as I scooped everything up in my arms and made my way to my room.

"Oh that's right. I picked out a dress for you. It's in your closet. I hope you like it." Aunt Mary said as I smiled.

"Thank you Aunt Mary. I'm sure I'll like it." I told her as I went up the stairs and into my room. I set up all the flowers, the chocolates on the counter, and the two stuffed animals with the stuffed spider from Halloween. I opened the closet and looked at the dress my Aunt bought me. It was red and it looked like Jessica Rabbits red dress but with sparkles and not so high of a slit up the right leg. It came with Ruby red sparkle pumps and white long elegant gloves with a white foe fur shoal. My Aunt went all out on this. Oh boy. I got dressed in it, made sure my legs were shaved, and decided to do my hair like Jessica Rabbit's. I wore silver hooped earrings, red lipstick with a gloss over it, white/light grey eye shadow, black eye liner in the winged style, mascara, and touches of silver sparkles on the corner of my eyes. I looked at myself and sighed. I would've accepted white but still not as bad as pink I guess. I finally made it down stairs as my family looked at me.

"You look like a movie star! I've wanted a daughter to dress up for a long time. A niece will do!" She said in excitement as I was then pulled next to Archie for pictures. Soon we were off to the dance. We got there and I felt eyes on me. I wasn't sure why really. I met up with the boys as they gawked at me.

"Sorry about this. My Aunt picked out the dress for me without my knowledge. I'm wearing it to make her happy." I explained to them.

"Dudette. I don't want to sound like a typical guy but dang~ you look smokin'!" He said as I blushed a deep red at that.

"Oh. Um well. Uh. Th-thank you?" I said as a question. I didn't know how to take it. Next thing I knew Tyler grabbed my hand and pulled me out to dance with him. I danced with all six guys and soon stopped to get a drink.

"Well I didn't think you could get any more attractive. Guess I was wrong Doll Face." I heard Reggie say to me. I turned to scold him but stopped when I saw his suit. It was a typical black but it looked nice on him. He wore a black tie and slicked his hair back. I think he was going for the James Bond look.

"Would you care to dance?" He asked me. I shook my head no.

"Sorry Reggie. I'd rather not. But there looks to be a few girls over there willing to dance with you." I said as I gestured behind him. He saw the girls eyeing him and decided to test his luck. I sighed in relief. Thank goodness. I drank my punch quickly as I start to go back.

"Salutations Aria." I turned to my right and saw Dilton heading my way in a Yellow tux and hat, like from the mask, as he looked at me.

"Hey Dilton. How are you tonight?" I asked him.

"Better now that your here." He said as I blushed lightly.

"Care to dance?" He asked as I nodded yes and took his hand. We danced to a few songs and had fun. Once the song was over Jughead came over in a blue tux with a blue bow tie and asked for the next dance. As soon as I said yes a slow song came on. Jughead and I danced to it as I blushed a deep red. I didn't see his blush. Jughead didn't realize that a slow song would be on. Once the dance was over I moved away slowly from Jughead. I smiled and told him that it was nice. Soon the night was over and I hurried off to bed. I had slow danced with Dilton sometime in the night and Jughead long before that. I was so confused and embarrassed. There was no way those two would want her. Not more than a friend anyways. I just shook my head as I shed of my clothes and into pajamas and went to sleep. My dreams were of me slow dancing with Dilton and Jughead as my sleeping form showed s smile and a gentle blush. If only I knew who the mystery admirers' were. Oh well.


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Something Is Haunting Riverdale High.

*Aria's POV*

It was now the beginning of March here in Riverdale. It was night time, around 7pm or so as Dilton and I were in the school science lab. Dilton had helped me with science projects in the past and now we got paired up to do a project for the science fair. I guess I was better at mechanics than I thought. Just not with cars. I had my hair up I a bun to keep it out of the way as I wore my jean pants, boots, black fingerless gloves, biker top, studded belt, silver stud earrings, and make up on with a lab coat, like Dilton's, over me. Anyways I was finishing screwing a piece together as Dilton looked over his plans.

"Is this right?" I asked him as he looked up.

"Perfect. Thanks Aria. Though you didn't have to stay here with me." He said as I looked at him with a smile.

"It's no problem. I'm sure you don't need my help but having an extra pair of hands never hurts. Plus I don't like the fact that your in here by yourself all the time. It's not healthy the lack of human contact and social life you have. I figured a friend would be a nice change for you. Also it's kinda cool that you have the keys to the school." I told him as I put the screwdriver down and walked over to him to look over the plans, only slightly confused, while speaking.

"It is a nice change. And yes an extra pair of hands do help. Your brain also helps me with a few things." He said as I blushed lightly at that. He was basically calling me smart. I didn't notice Dilton looking at my blush.

"So what does this do again?" I asked him as my blush went away.

"This machine will revolutionize the way we live. We can create rooms with his with larger spaces so a one bedroom one bathroom one story home can actually have ten rooms and ten bathrooms for more people to live in." Dilton explained as I smiled.

"That's a wonderful idea. It will help man kind without destroying more forests and wildlife and make sure everyone has a home instead of being homeless. That's so sweet. And to think this all started when I said I wish my room was like the TARDIS from Doctor Who. Haha." I said with a laugh.

"Yes your right. It also reduces the risk of endangered species from extinction. I'm glad your here because now I can fully add that part into my report. To be honest I had not fully thought of that but thought of how more people need homes. Adding in saving the wildlife to the mix will be an extra boost. Also why it's nice to have someone else who is smart to help out." He added as I blushed again.

"O-oh. Well thank you." I said lightly. Dilton went over to the machine and some chemicals as I readied the camera.

"It also helps to have an assistant record." I laughed as I got the camera ready.

"Indeed." He agreed. I softly giggled. Dilton was super cute when he talked all scientist like and talked intelligently.

*Concentrate.* I mentally scolded myself.

"You sure you don't need to go home?" He asked me.

"No. I'm sure. I left a note for Archie and my Aunt and Uncle left for a business trip for the next two weeks. I'll be okay." I told him. Uncle Fred went out a lot for business and sometimes Aunt Marry would go with him.

"Right. Aren't they going down to New York City? Near your home?" He asked as I nodded.

"Yeah. Aunt Mary decided this would be the one time she goes with Uncle Fred not only to see his brother and the sister in law, AKA my parents, but to see why I would get into fights and in trouble a lot and stuff like that. I sure hope they see things through my eyes and not believe my parents." I mumbled the last part and was about to turn the camera on.

"Are your parents really that bad to lie to them?" He asked as I stopped. I guess he heard me mumble the last part.

"Its'…..complicated. It's really hard to explain. I-i just." I stopped as I sighed.

"It's ok. You don't have to tell me unless your ready to. I understand completely." He told me as I looked at him and smiled lightly.

"Ready?" I asked as he nodded. I then turned the camera on and signalled that we were rolling.

"Today we are trying the experimental test one of my latest machine to increase amount of rooms. I am Dilton Doiley. My assistant Aria shall be recording this historic event." He said as he tried to get the machine to work. It didn't.

"Um Dilton? Is it plugged in?" I asked him as he huffed.

"I am a scientist. I would know if it was oh!" He said as he held up the plug.

"Guess not." He said as I giggled.

"Yeah. You would know Mr. scientist." I teased.

"Lets try this again." He said as he tried to get it to work. It sparked but nothing worked.

"Maybe I mixed up a wire." I said as I walked over and examined the blue prints.

"It's possible." He said as I looked at him.

"It looks like I did it correctly though. Maybe reverse the Scanotronic Matrix Compositor then it might work." I suggested.

"Good idea. I just thought the same thing." He said as we reversed it and adjusted the wiring.

"Ok. Now for the camera lets try again." I said as I went to go to it. Dilton stopped me.

"Stay here. Your already by the view of the camera. Lets succeed together." He said with a smile. My cheeks went slightly pink as I nodded.

"Are you sure?" I asked him.

"Yes. If it is successful then I want proof that you did much more than work the camera." He said as I smiled and nodded with still light pink cheeks.

"Alright. Lets turn this bad boy on then." I said as we went over to the machine and turned it on. We turned it on and it started sparking and fritz.

"Oh no!" I yelled as I couldn't turn it off. Dilton hit it a few times and it stopped.

"Phew." I said in relief. Dilton sighed.

"Maybe this was a fool hardy endeavour to embark upon." He said as we went over to a station table and leaned on in. I joined him.

"It was not fool hardy. It's not an easy one. It will take time and a few tries but this was, and still is, a brilliant idea." I told him as he sighed again.

"The plan seemed so simple though. We invent the Multi Frequency Modulation Radiation Device, Then we win the science fair. Maybe even a Nobel Prize." He said as he grabbed a bottle of water, opened it and as he finished his sentence he took a few gulps from it before putting it down. I did the same with my water.

"It does sound simple but it's not. We still have time to try and fix this. The fair isn't for 3 days. We can do it." I encouraged him.

"Your right. The reason why I want to win the Nobel prize is to become rich. Then maybe people would visit me more often. I mean I know you do and that's nice but I mean others. And I'd of course split the money with you." He said sadly at first and then the last two parts nervously. I blushed and giggled.

"It's cute when you nervously ramble." I said as I froze up. Did I just say that out loud?

"Huh? You think it's cute?" He asked me. Oh fudge I did say it out loud. I got a bit nervous and was about to say something when a weird rattling sound followed by a bright light stunned us.

"What?" I gasped as I looked at the machine. It was on the fritz before a light consumed us. We both tried to move out of the way and screamed but it hit us anyways. Once the light died down I looked around. Everything seemed normal. I was tired though.

"Dilton?" I called.

"Over here." He said as he got up and adjusted his glasses.

"Are you alright Aria?" He asked me.

"Yes I think so." I said as I got up.

"What happened?" I asked him.

"I'm not sure." He replied. A janitor came in and looked around for us.

"Hello? Are you kids here?" He asked as he looked around.

"We're alright." I told him but he didn't seem to hear me as he turned around. I walked up to him.

"Excuse me?" I said as I went to grab him but I fell right through him.

"Ack!" I said as I started sparking on the ground until the Janitor left and locked the door.

"Aria." Dilton said as he came over to me.

"Wow that felt weird. Dilton? What happened?" I asked him when he helped me out.

"My theory is that my machine has made us in a type of Astral Projection." He stated.

"Astral Projection is an out of body experience though. I don't see out bodies so basically it turned us, body and all, into ghosts?" I questioned him. Please don't say yes.

"I'm afraid thats correct." He said.

"Dash it all. I was hoping you wouldn't say that. How do we reverse it?" I asked him.

"We can try turning off the machine." He said as he went over to turn it off but it pushed him back.

"Dilton!" I gasped as I went to help him up.

"Seems like a magnetic reaction when you put two magnets together." He said.

"Wonderful." I muttered.

"We just have to wait until someone shows up. And hope they don't get hit by this either." He said. Now we had to wait until morning when school started. Until then we tested our abilities. We could walk through walls and move metal objects around easily but other objects took too much strength. Lets hope someone finds out we're missing. And soon.

*Time skip to the morning*

Dilton decided to stay here and figure out the machine while I try to catch someone's attention with our abilities. This should be interesting. I had tried to talk to others but nothing happened. No surprise there. I would close lockers on people but they didn't seem to notice nor care. I had tried for a couple hours before going to History class to try my luck there. I made it into Archie's History class where Betty, Veronica, Jughead, Archie, Moose, Midge and Big Ethel were. I tried to get Moose and Midge's attentions but they didn't see a thing. I went to Jughead to wake him. Nothing. I heard Archie talking.

"It's so weird. I haven't seen Aria today. She never came home." Archie said. He did notice.

"Where do you think she is?" Betty asked.

"I'm not sure. She left a note that she would be working on a science project with Dilton but I went by there before class and didn't see either one of them there." Archie mentioned. He looked for Dilton too?

"Maybe she decided not to come in." Archie soon added.

"Why do you say that?" Veronica asked.

"Well my parents are visiting her parents in the city while they're out there on business and Aria wasn't happy about that. Her parents and her don't see eye to eye and she's worried that after this visit My parents will treat her differently." Archie added. He had no right to tell them any of this but I understood why.

"So you think she's rebelling?" Big Ethel asked.

"So you think she's rebelling?" Betty asked. They ignored Big Ethel completely.

"Maybe. Not the first time. Especially if she's scared or worried. Maybe she went home after I left and is in her room or something. Wouldn't do any good to call. She wouldn't pick up." Archie said as I sighed.

"I'm right here." I said as I went to touch him but felt that shocking pulse and pulled back.

"I'm sure she'll turn up." Veronica added in.

"Mark your calendars guys and gals. Tomorrow is the day I'm going to make History." I heard Reggie say as he walked in and took a seat.

"You mean for the first time ever your going to pick up the bill at Pop Tate's Shoppe?" Archie asked in a joking manner. Jughead soon woke up.

"Huh? Someone's picking up the bill at Pop Tate's? I'm there!" He shouted and stood up in excitement. I giggled. He was cute when it came to food. The group laughed.

"Ha. You all scoff because your jealous. Tomorrow at lunch I give my presentation to the coin club." He says as he pulls out a mini safe. This I'm actually curious about.

"After I'm done I'm sure the club will erect a statue of me to commemorate my presentation." He boasted as he opened the safe. I rolled my eyes. Typical Reggie.

"Coins. Big deal. Back to hamburgers dancing in my head." Jughead said as he fell asleep. I laughed loudly.

"Even Reggie makes Jughead _sleep_ from _boredom!"_ I said. No one could hear me. Kind of depressing but I was used to it. This was my life back at my old school.

"All this fuss over a bunch of coins. Now if it was _jewelry_ That would be different." Veronica said as I rolled my eyes. Some people don't appreciate history or antiques or even collections for that matter.

"Do you have some special coins in your collection Reggie?" Betty asked.

"No duh! It's in a safe!" I said to her. Oh right. Invisible.

"Special coins? Ha! Take a look at this!" Reggie said as he suddenly pulled out a coin.

"Cool. A mint 1912 Baltimore bullock 7 cent piece. There were only three of those made." Big Ethel said as she was impressed by the coin. She knew a lot about them? Who knew? Maybe I should talk to her a bit more. I didn't know her too well. Heck I was starting to get to know Midge a bit more. I'd been helping her out with her stunt moves.

"Do you know what this is?" Reggie asked as he ignored Big Ethel.

"Yes. It's a mint 1912 Baltimore bullock 7 cent piece. There were only three of those made." She said a little louder this time. The three shook there heads no.

"It's a mint 1912 Baltimore bullock 7 cent piece. There were only three of those made." Reggie said as he and everyone ignored Big Ethel as he explained what it was. Poor Ethel. Big Ethel sighed.

"I guess I could just sit here and pretend I don't exist. What else is knew?" She muttered as I looked at her pouted face and crossed arms. I knew _exactly_ how she felt.

"Class. Pay attention." Miss Grundy started. Cream puffs. I need to let them know I'm here. I didn't see metal around so while Miss Grundy was talking I decided to push the papers. I managed to. I heard Betty giggle.

"That's strange. There's no breeze in here." She said as I looked at Archie. Nothing. Once the papers were put back I pushed them again. Miss Grundy was getting mad. I noticed Archie had a quizzical look. It was working. One more time might do it. I used all my strength to grab the papers and try to drag the to the door. If I could get them to follow them maybe we could get them to turn the machine in reverse. I got them half way to the door, becoming increasingly tired, when they were grabbed from me and put back on the desk, Miss Grundy holding the down, and looking mad.

"Betty! Read!" She said in an angry tone. I sat down to rest as I looked at Archie. He had a look on his face that told me he knew something was up.

"Yes!" I shouted as I rested a bit more before leaving to check on Dilton. When I got close to the lab again I noticed the light that engulfed me and Dilton before. It got bigger. I rushed to Dilton.

"What's happening?" I questioned loudly.

"It's getting bigger. It gives off pulses in a time limit and there growing slightly closer together and bigger. For now it's only happened within a few hours but that might change soon. So far I has gone off a total of three times. I calculate the next one will go off in 6 hours time. It's about 10:13 AM right now. Did anyone else get hit? Did they notice you?" He explained before asking me these questions. I walked over to him.

"No one got hit thank goodness. I caught Archie's interest when I moved the papers around so he might investigate the weird mystery I've created. He might think it's a ghost but it's a start." I told him as I sat on the floor and panted lightly.

"Are you okay Aria?" He asked me.

"I'm not sure. I used up to much energy moving papers to get there attentions and then the run didn't help. Being ghost like takes up a lot more energy than I ever thought." I explained.

"Just rest for now. I can't do anything with this confounded machine." He said as he sat next to me. I looked and noticed my cam corder was still there.

"My camera." I said as I looked at it.

"The machine drained the battery when we got hit last night but it should still work. He said.

"I wish I could give it to Archie but we can't open the doors." I said as he nodded.

"It's alright. We'll get through this." He said to me.

"I hope so. He thinks I ran off because of his parents visiting my parents and thought they would treat me differently. I don't want him to think I ran off like usual." I said as I pulled my knees up, wrapped my arms around them, and put my forehead on my knees to rest it.

"Did you run away a lot?" Dilton asked me as I sighed.

"Only when things would get bad. I had no friends so I usually ran to the park to sleep in a tree of hide out until my parents would stop yelling at each other or at me. Especially when mom drinks." I said. I was trying not to cry. I suddenly felt a hand on my back and looked at Dilton with watery eyes.

"I'm sorry. I never knew your parents were that bad. They never hit you did they?" He asked me. I didn't respond and he grew shocked and understood.

"Your mom or dad?" He asked me.

"Mom when she's drunk. Dad only hits me when I either fight mom off me of get into fights. They don't hit my face unless it's already bruised up." I told him as I sighed.

"That's why Aunt Mary and Uncle Fred want me here this year. My parents told them I was rebellious and don't listen to them at all and always fight. They know nothing about the abuse. I never even told Archie about the beatings. Only that they yell at me, mom gets drunk a lot and dad's been getting angrier lately. My dad knows a bunch of cops so that never helped me. The school didn't even care. I'm not sure what changed really. They were fine until I was 7 and then things changed drastically. That's why I didn't have a lot of stuff when I arrived." I said spilling out all of this at once as I tried not to cry.

"I'm sorry. You don't need to hear this. You don't need to know why I'm messed up." I blurted out as I buried my head back to its spot on my knees and gently cried. It felt good to talk about this but the pain of bottling it up for years was too much.

"Aria." Dilton gently said as he then hugged me. I gently gasped at his hug.

"Your not messed up. Your smart, beautiful, kind, strong, brave and wonderful. You stand up for yourself and others. You speak your mind and show so much kindness. Is that why you were happy the day I tested you and told you that you were smart? Did your parents tell you that you were stupid?" He asked me.

"Yes." I muttered.

"They think I cheat on all my tests and the teachers purposefully fail me because mom convinced them that I was cheating and that I'm stupid." I said as my voiced cracked a bit.

"Your not stupid at all Aria. As proven here. You needed this environment to properly grow. You are a unique girl Aria. You're so incredible that they don't see it at all. Is this why you see me in the lab? Because it reminds you how alone you were and don't want to see anyone like that?" He asked me as I nodded.

"That and I really do like you Dilton. Besides Archie I think you and Jughead are my best friends in this world. Everyone else is a friend but you three are my best friends. At least to me you are." I told him as I started calming down.

"I never knew you thought of me as your best friend. I'm honoured. But you should never doubt yourself Aria. Keep being you. But also don't be afraid to open up to me. You should tell Archie about your parents hitting you though. It might help." He said as I looked at him.

"No. No Archie can never know. It would cause more problems. Besides in three more years I'll be in college and then I won't ever have to go back." I told him.

"But Aria, your only suppose to be here for a year. And it's almost up." He said as I shook my head.

"I'll be alright. I can handle it. I always have." I told him.

"Maybe you could finish school here. You know, to continue the education? It would be safer and easier." He said.

"I think that's why they went out there. To see if I can do at least one more year down here." I confessed as I hugged Dilton back finally and buried my face into his shoulder.

"You'll be fine. I still think you should tell them but if you want to talk to anyone about this I'll listen. It hurts to know what's been happening to you. I'll always listen." He told me as I nodded my head before I fell asleep. I guess I used up a lot more energy than I thought.

*Dilton's POV*

I listened to Aria blurt out her life at home and how bad it was. First she told me about how Archie thought she ran away for a bit. Then she told me why she would. I had decided now would be best to ask her about her home life. I had rubbed her back to comfort her while she spoke. She cried and apologized for blurting this out to me and being 'messed up' and I hugged her. I didn't like to see her cry. I never want her to cry over pain. Especially this kind.

I asked if they ever hit her and when she didn't answer I asked which one. I was shocked to find out mostly her mother, especially when consuming alcohol, but her father as well. Archie's father's brother? He was suppose to be as nice as Archie's father. Guess not. I had spoke comforting words to make her feel better and to help her get all of it out. She needs to vent. It was worse when she said he would hit her after getting into a fight. They could've damaged her more. The rude and awful things they said and did to her.

I had asked her about the day I tested her and what she said and she told me about that. How can a school fail someone so smart because they thought that they were cheating? And for her dad to know cops down there? No wonder child services didn't help her. If Archie had never communicated with her over the years then who knows what might have happened. That's why she still gets nervous around adults. That's why she hates bullies. I asked her if the reason why she visits me in the lab was because me being alone reminded her of her and she nodded yes.

"That and I really do like you Dilton. Besides Archie I think you and Jughead are my best friends in this world. Everyone else is a friend but you three are my best friends. At least to me you are." She told me as she finally started calming down.

"I never knew you thought of me as your best friend. I'm honoured. But you should never doubt yourself Aria. Keep being you. But also don't be afraid to open up to me. You should tell Archie about your parents hitting you though. It might help." I told her but she then looked at me in shock and horror. She told me she never wanted Archie to know and that she could handle it. I tried to reason with her but she said 'three more years' so I told her that maybe she might be able to finish school here. I told her she could tell me anything. Whenever she needed to talk to me I'd be there for her. She hugged me back and thanked me. I guess all the emotions and strength she used made her tired because she fell asleep on me. I sighed as I laid her down on the floor.

*Since she was 7 years old? 8 almost 9 years she's been bottling up these emotions? That's not healthy. I wonder what else they did to her. Does she have any scars? How can she still be filled with so much kindness after all that. She's definitely like Archie with staying positive. Her being here is helping her. I should try to talk to Archie and/or his parents in secret to see what I can do to help. She might think I'm betraying her but I want to help.* I thought as I sighed. For now I need to try and get this problem fixed. I had been here for a few hours then decided to walk around to clear my mind to think better. It was after school and not a lot of people would be here right now.

I headed back near the supply closet when the light beam struck again. Oh no. Once it was over I heard someone in the closet of the supply room. I looked and saw Midge trying to pull out a mat.

"Hey Dilton. Can you give me a hand? This is heavy for some reason." She commented. She could see me.

"Oh no. Midge did you see an orange light?" I asked her.

"Yeah. It covered me in a glow and then I had a hard time with this mat. Why?" She asked me. I grabbed her wrist and started pulling her into a run to the lab.

"My machine backfired and now the three of us are ghosts essentially." I told her.

"Wait three? We're ghosts? Boy I think you hit your head." She said as I suddenly pulled her through the door to the lab where Aria was just getting up into a sitting position and looking around.

"Aria." I said as I caught her attention.

"Whoa! How'd we do that?" Midge asked as Aria looked at us.

*Aria's POV*

I felt the beam as I got up and looked around. The beam in a weird way brought back my strength but as I sat up and looked around I didn't see Dilton.

"Aria." I heard Dilton say and as I looked behind me I saw Midge there too in her work out outfit.

"Whoa! How'd we do that?" She asked as she looked at us. I just groaned.

"Where were you when it went off?" I asked.

"Near the storage room." He told me.

"It's growing with each pulse then." I concluded as he nodded.

"Hey? Is anybody going to explain this to me?" Midge asked as we explained everything. We soon taught her what we could and could not do and what was hard to move vs what was easy. She understood and wanted to help out. It was now night time and the three of us needed to make sure the school was empty before another pulse went off. Dilton calculates 5 to 5 ½ hours until the next pulse. We soon saw Principal Weatherbee locking up the school for the night. Midge, Dilton and I came up with a plan to ask for help from him. We tried using Morse code but he ran away screaming. Great.

"Well that didn't work." Midge pointed out.

"He must not know Morse code." Dilton added. Then a light bulb appeared above my head.

"Maybe this isn't a bad thing." I said.

"How so?" Midge asked as I smiled.

"My cousin Archie most likely thinks this is a weird mystery. If Principal Weatherbee asks him about it tomorrow than he can help us. All we need to do is annoy Principal Weatherbee enough with the metal objects and that will be the push we need." I said as they smiled.

"Great idea Aria. It might just work." Dilton said.

"Oh it will work. I'll be sure of that." I said. During the night the machine went off at 6 hours again. It was odd but I didn't question it. But it did have a bigger ray this time. It is growing in size and soon the time gap will be shorter.

*The Next Morning*

Once Principal Weatherbee entered the school we put the plan in motion. Dilton, Midge and I did the locker thing again and when he arrived in his office Midge stayed with me ans Dilton went back to the lab to try and figure out what to do next. We did simple stuff with the metal to annoy him as we grew bored. Once Archie was here I would try to keep an eye on him while Midge got Dilton. I hope this works. Kids were piling in and once home room started Principal Weatherbee called Archie in his office. It worked. I was now playing with the stapler, making it move around like one of those tiny toy bunnies you wind up, a someone knocked on the door.

"Come in." Principal Weatherbee said as we looked and saw Archie poking his head in.

"You wanted to see me?" He asked.

"Good luck." Midge said as she left to go tell Dilton. I sighed as I watched Archie enter the office after Principal Weatherbee told him to sit down and listen to the conversation while still playing with the stapler. What? I was bored! Principal Weatherbee was pacing as he sat down and asked if he was in trouble before he saw me playing with the stapler. Well not me specifically but the stapler that appeared to be moving on it's own.

"I've been reading yours and your cousins 'weird mysteries' column for the past few months and, frankly, I didn't put much stock into it. Spooks and goblins and aliens and werewolves. A lot of balderdash I thought." He ranted and stopped pacing as Archie gasped. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Sir I protest!" Archie said loudly.

"That's what I used to think. But now." He said as he finally sat down and looked at Archie. He looked around for a few seconds and then looked at Archie with a worried look on his face and put his hand next to his mouth to talk quietly but still loud enough for Archie and I to hear.

"Archie. Have you noticed anything _unusual_ going on at Riverdale High School the last few days?" He asked as Archie looked at the stapler again and pointed to it.

"You mean like the stapler on your desk?" He asked as Principal Weatherbee gasped. I giggled at how Archie could be blunt with things.

"It's been doing that on and off all morning." He said and soon the stapler was taken away from me and slammed it in the desk drawer before he slammed the drawer closed.

"Hey! I was playing with that! Now what am I suppose to do?" I yelled but, of course, they didn't hear me.

"Yes sir. It's classic poltergeist phenomena." Archie claimed while putting both hands behind his head and leaned back.

"Figures ghosts are still on your mind." I said to no one in general. Principal Weatherbee was now wiping the sweat off his head with a cloth.

"Ah! So you've had experience in this sort of stuff before. I knew you were the man for this job. Too bad your cousin isn't here. I could've used her help as well." He said as I sighed.

"Believe me Principal Weatherbee I'm helping." I said even tough he couldn't hear me. He suddenly pulled out a gold card and handed it to Archie and as he took Principal Weatherbee spoke again.

"Here! This is a _Golden Hall pass._ It grants you full access of the High School _and_ exempts you from class. You'll need it." He said as I leaned forward and looked at it with Archie.

"Cool." I said.

"What for?" Archie asked as I smacked my forehead.

"Uhg. Seriously Archie?" I said loudly to him. Right. Still can't hear me.

"I need you to get rid of this poltergeist phenomena. Do whatever it takes. Set traps, burn incense, spray poltergeist repellent. Just get it off my campus." He said as he was pacing around a bit before placing both hands firmly on his desk at the last sentence.

"Ha! I'm a student and you want me out of here? Because you think I'm a ghost? Learn Morse code!" I told him even though he can't hear me.

"You can count on me sir." Archie said as he stood up and shook Principal Weatherbee's hand. Great. Now to get Archie to the lab and get him to turn flip the switch in reverse before more damage is done. Archie left the office and pulled out a magnify glass and started investigating just as the bell rang. Wait. How long was he carrying that around? Sometimes I worry about that boy. He was using to look around and said Hm every now and then. He stopped in front of Veronica and went Hm three times, the third one in an interested way, while she posed before Betty stepped between then. I swear his hormones got the better of him at times. Now he's in trouble with Betty.

"Uh oh." He said as Betty glared at him. He quickly and stealthily turned around and continued the search while Veronica sneaked off somewhere. I then went to catch up to him but went through a few too many people and had to stop to rest. What? The shocking pulses didn't hurt too much but it did wear me out faster. Once I rested up I noticed Archie was completely out of sight.

"Uh oh." I said as I ran around to find him. I found Dilton and Midge standing outside the bathroom as they noticed me.

"Well?" Dilton asked.

"He is investigating but I lost him. Going through people wears you out faster apparently. I'm sorry. I tried to keep up." I said to them. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up to see Midge had her hand on me and both her and Dilton had small smiles on there faces.

"That's alright. If he's roaming the school we'll find him." She said as another surge of light waved over us.

"Oh no. This one was bigger. And it only took two hours. It's getting shorter in time and bigger in size." Dilton said in a panic.

"We need to hurry." I said as we split up to find Archie. The next one would go off in an hour. It's 10:20 am.

"Cheese balls." I said in a huff as I searched around for Archie.

"The lab! Maybe he went there!" I thought as I headed towards the lab. I made it to the lab just in time to see Dilton talking to Archie about the machine and him **talking back?** That means.

"Archie!" I shouted as I ran to him.

"Huh? Aria?" He asked as I grabbed him in a hug.

"You can see and hear me too?" He asked as I looked at him.

"Dilton and I have been like this since, well, when I left you that note that I would be with Dilton. Midge got hit with the ray yesterday. We've been trying to communicate with you and everyone ever since." I told him as I finally pulled back and looked away.

"Really? That's what happened to you?" He asked me as I soon smacked his arm.

"Ow. Why'd ya do that?" He asked me.

"1st off for not being as worried as you should have. 2nd I did not "Run away" Because Aunt Mary and Uncle Fred went to see my parents while on their business trip. 3rd for not knowing that both Dilton and Midge were missing and finally for not realizing that the papers moving off the desk was me and the same goes for the stapler out of sheer boredom." I explained to him.

"Oh. Hehe. Sorry?" He said as I looked at him.

"No really. I am." He said as I sighed.

"Did you tell him everything Dilton?" I asked as Dilton nodded.

"Yes I did already." He said.

"Good. We should figure out a plan and get moving quickly. We need to get someone's attention to flip the switch or something." I said as we headed out of the lab and into the hallways.

"But nobody can see nor hear us." Archie said.

"I know already. It's like my old school all over again. Except without the fights." I mentioned as we continued down the halls.

"So how did you get like this Midge?" Archie asked.

"I was in the storage room looking for a spare mat when I was hit by the orange glow." She exclaimed.

"I thought you were looking for Moose." He said as I smacked my forehead.

"Really Archie?" I muttered as Midge continued.

"I'm not just Moose's Girlfriend you know. I have interests as well. I'm studying gymnastics to be a stunt woman." She said.

"I would know. I help her out when I do my martial arts practice on Wednesdays." I told him.

"Really?" He asked as we nodded.

"I ran into her when it happened so finding each other was easy. I brought her to the lab where Aria was resting. She used to much energy on the papers to catch your attention." Dilton explained as Archie looked at the three of us.

"Look at that." Midge said as we looked and saw Big Ethel in a long red skirt, a long red jacket to match with a red bow in her hair, a white top and black shoes. It was a different look for her but not a bad one.

"Nothing up my sleeves." She said and whirled her arm around to do a magic trick.

"Big Ethel's really good at magic tricks." Midge commented.

"Who knew. She's never done this in public." Archie commented.

"Or maybe the public never paid attention before." Midge pointed out. Big Ethel made a bouquet of flowers appear and then tossed them behind her. Then we saw an orange light go to Big Ethel and slowly consume her as she spoke.

"Now for my next trick, although that was pretty cool, but not my extract." She said as the light completely consumed her. All four of us could do nothing but watch in shock at how big the pulses were getting. The light then faded and Big Ethel saw us. She looked shocked as she then stood up straight.

"Uh where did you guys come from? And how long have you been there?" She asked as I smiled.

"Long enough. The tricks are cool." I commented as she lightly smiled.

"This is much worse than Aria and I suspected. These pulses are growing larger than we anticipated. Soon it will cover the whole town and that means." Dilton started before Archie finished the sentence for him.

"Riverdale will be a real ghost town." He exclaimed. Archie then ran into a class room as we followed.

"We've got to warn everyone." Archie stated as Dilton and Midge waved a hand in front of a few kids.

"We've tried Archie. I've been trying for two days straight." I told him.

"In this state we're virtually useless." Dilton explained.

"Go ahead. See how hard it is to move those papers." Midge said as I watched.

"Concentrate and focus on the papers." Dilton instructed. Archie mustered up all that he could just to barely knock them over. Archie then sat on the floor and leaned against the desk.

"Whoa. That was tough." He said.

"Now you know how I felt." I told him. He soon sat up as Miss Grundy picked up the papers and put them back on the desk.

"See? It took all your strength just to move some papers." Dilton told him.

"Although for some reason it wasn't hard to open the lockers." Midge said.

"Or clip the stapler around. Man that was kinda fun." I exclaimed. What? I've been like this for 2 days now. That was the most fun I had in those 2 days.

"It's a shame that no one here in this school knows Morse code though." Dilton added in.

"Wait a minute. Both the lockers and the stapler are made of metal." Archie pointed out.

"Yes and the stable molecular density allows us to move them freely and hold them as well. So what?" I asked.

"Why I'll be super amalgamated. How did you figure that one out before me Aria?" He questioned as I looked at him.

"Huh? I thought you knew that already. Your the Guinness here, not me. I'm just the assistant who was barely smart enough to figure this out." I told him plainly.

"Aria I told you that you were smart." He pointed out as I gently blushed.

"So we can still touch and hold anything metal." Midge confirmed.

"Correct. But that means we can hardly move or touch anything else." I told her.

"So what if we find a metal device in your lab to flip the switch in reverse?" Archie asked.

"We keep getting pushed away. I think the metal might help but it would use too much strength that we don't have to flip it." I commented.

"She's right on this one Archie. I've already tried." Dilton pointed out. Then another light bulb went on above my head.

"I got an idea. Reggie's coin. What if we took it and made him follow it to the lab and trick him into flipping the switch?" I suggested.

"Perfect idea Aria. But where is he?" He asked.

"Hey. Where's Big Ethel?" I asked as we then noticed her at the chalk board, with her body in it and her head, arms and foot poking out, as she wiggled them behind Miss Grundy. I laughed at the sight of that.

"Hey. There's some perks to being a ghost. Like walking through walls." She said as she then had only her upper half sticking out and doing a 'I'm a spooky ghost right behind you' motion as I laughed even harder.

"Big Ethel. Stop. Please. That's just too funny." I said as I tried to stop. She soon stopped and I stopped laughing.

"Reggie's next door preparing himself for the coin collection. Maybe now I can get a closer look at that 1912 Baltimore bullock 7 cent piece." She commented.

"I remember you saying that in History class yesterday when no one paid attention to you. I also remember you saying that only three were made. You know a lot about coins. I'm sorry that Archie didn't hear you ask if I was rebelling. I know he heard Betty though when she asked after you did." I commented as Archie flushed pink with embarrassment and Big Ethel looked at me shocked.

"You heard all that?" She asked me as I nodded.

"I got there once Archie started talking about it until after the 3rd time I moved the papers and saw the look on Archie's face. The look that screams 'I smell a weird mystery' look." I commented.

"I wished I had payed better attention to you Big Ethel." Archie said.

"To all of you." He also commented to Midge and Dilton.

"Okay enough of the mushy stuff. I already explained a plan. You four ready to help out?" I asked them. Big Ethel smiled brightly.

"You mean? I'll get to help you two with one of your weird mysteries? Cool. I've always wanted to be in your column." She said as Dilton smiled as well.

"Sure. Why should Betty and Veronica have all the fun?" Midge asked as she was smiling and pumped up for this mystery. I smiled at all of them.

"Alright! Let's get that coin and make Reggie follow it to the lab." I said as we then moved to the next room to put the plan in motion.

"Ok. Let's do one person bring the coin to the next person until we get to the lab so no one gets to tired out." I said.

"Sounds good." Archie said as I nodded.

"Ok." I replied as we set it up like this. Big Ethel will get the coin and slide it under the door, then Midge will have it until she hands it off to me under the door, then when the door opens I toss it to Archie at the machine while Dilton can instruct Archie while I quickly gather the girls and get them in the room quickly to make sure we're all back to normal. We set up as the plan went into motion. I waited in the lab for Midge to give us the coin. She then poked her head inside.

"Get ready. Here he comes." Midge said as she then slid the coin under the door where I grabbed it. I heard a slam on the other side of the door followed by an 'Ow' to go with it.

"That had to hurt." Midge said as she came inside.

"We better hurry. It looks like the device is about to pulse again. And this time it'll cover the whole school." Dilton commented. Suddenly door opened.

"Alright coin. This time it's personal." Reggie said as I waved the coin in front of him before tossing it behind me for Archie to catch. He soon caught it and put it on the switch and used all his strength to hold it there. All five of us were then saw Reggie run and jump to grab the coin. As he grabbed it he flipped the switch.

"Ha! Now your mine again." Reggie said on the ground as the machine soon did a reverse pulse that turned Dilton, Me Big Ethel and Midge solid again.

"Huh? Hey! Where'd you guys come from?" He asked us as he sat up. I smiled brightly.

"It worked. We're not ghosts anymore." I said in happiness.

"Archie! Quick! Get in front of the dish so I can reverse it." Dilton said.

"What are you talking about? Archie's not here." Reggie said as the machine went off again. Soon Archie became visible to all of us.

"Oh no! I can't shut it off." Dilton said as I had a mild Deja Vu moment. That moment made me remember we had to plug it in. I ran up to Dilton and Reggie and grabbed the cord. I yanked on it and unplugged it as the device which turned it off.

"Huh?" Dilton questioned.

"*Ahem* I believe I told you last time that it needed to be plugged in." I reminded him as he looked at me after my ahem and then sighed in relief.

"Yeah." He said as he rubbed the back of his head lightly and smiled back.

"Huh? I'm confused." Reggie said as Midge went up to him.

"Your always confused Reggie. Get used to it." She said as she walked away. Big Ethel then got in front of him.

"Don't let it get ya down big guy." She said and then walked away as well. Now it was Dilton, Myself, Archie, and Reggie in the room and Reggie was still sitting on the floor. I went over to the one side of the room and grabbed my camcorder before rejoining Archie and Dilton. The three of us looked at him and then just casually walked out the door, leaving him there confused. I took off the lab coat and left it on one of the desks before walking out though. We went to Principal Weatherbee and explained the whole situation, which he ended up excepting, and just marked me down as called out sick so Archie's parents, and mine if they ever found out, wouldn't be too mad about it. I could make up the work easily. Now it was the end of the school day and the five of us were now outside by the statue and started talking.

"That was quite an adventure." Archie said as Big Ethel and Midge nodded while Dilton smiled and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"We should hang out more." I said in a cheery voice.

"Oh Archie-kins. Aria." We heard as we looked behind us to see Betty, Jughead, and a grumpy Reggie waiting a distance away while Veronica came up to us.

"I've got five free tickets to the movies tonight. Since Jughead has one unlimited one already I thought about you as well Aria. How About you keep me company Archie-kins." Veronica said nicely towards me and flirtatiously towards Archie. I looked back at the three and saw them frown.

"Well. It's back to the lab." Dilton said in a sad tone.

"It was fun while it lasted." Midge said as she then stood up from her spot on the ground.

"At least I had a great adventure. Time to disappear I guess." Big Ethel said as they all looked down in sadness. I looked at Archie and Veronica and saw Veronica give them a smug smile.

"I'll pass Veronica. I have other friends I need to spend time with." I told her as I walked over to the other three. They looked at me and smiled as I smiled back.

"Same here Veronica. I'm going to spend the evening with my other friends." He said as I turned to him and smiled.

"How bout Pops?" I questioned as everyone nodded in agreement. Soon we were at Pop's and had a great time telling stories, eating burgers, and having some milkshakes.

"A toast, to good friends." Archie suddenly said as we all toasted. And soon started drinking the shakes. Once the evening was over we went to say goodbye to everyone. I got pulled aside by Dilton quietly.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

"Thank you. For spending time with me outside of the lab." He said sheepishly. I smiled and gently hugged him.

"It's not a big deal. You can always ask to spend time with me." I told him.

"If you ever want to, ya know, talk more just come see me. Alright?" He asked me. I knew what he meant.

"I will. I just don't want to be a bother." I told him.

"Aria having you around is no bother at all." He said as I smiled at him. We rejoined the group and soon went our separate ways. Archie and I went home and then started typing the article up.

"Because they're quiet, shy, don't quite wear the right clothes or aren't as flashy as the popular kids some kids feel invisible. Trust me from past experience. I would know. ~Aria. I was guilty of treating Dilton, Midge and Big Ethel like they were invisible by not really paying attention to them. I even ignored Aria's disappearance as nothing but her rebelling. When Dilton's invention went awry it reminded me to notice and appreciate all of the good people in my life. I hope you do to. It was an important lesson I was grateful to learn ~Archie. ….In a little town called Riverdale! ~Archie and Aria." We finished up the article for the night.

"Archie? Can I talk to you?" I asked him.

"Sure. You know you can." He told me as we sat on his bed together. I sighed and told him the conversation I had with Dilton. How I broke down and even told him about the abuse.

"Aria. Why didn't you tell me?" He asked me as I shook my head.

"How could I? How could I tell you that my father, you father's brother, and my mother were doing that to me? Uncle Fred might not have believed me anyways. Plus Dad knows some of the cops so I'd be branded a liar as usual." I said as I sighed. Archie put a hand on my back and looked at me.

"I'm so sorry." He said as he hugged me. I hugged him back.

"I'm only telling you because Dilton wanted me to. After being unseen and unheard I thought it was time. You can tell Jughead to. I'll probably tell him. I trust you three. Your my best friends in the world." I told him.

"Aria. The first time we went to Pop's and you ate all that food. I made a comment 'You act like you haven't eaten in days.' was that true without my knowledge?" He asked me as I sighed.

"They locked the fridge and stopped feeding me Archie. I only ate either at school or when they decided to feed me scraps. And remember how I said most of my stuff got ruined?" I asked him as he nodded. I sighed.

"Mom got drunk and tore up all my clothes out of spite and then she tore up all my posters and broke my stuff. I was glad that the few things I had were in the trunk. I'm also glad I put it in a secret hole in my closet where she couldn't get it. It was bad that day. That was the day I fell down the stairs. I didn't fall Archie. She attacked me and I pushed her off me. Dad saw that and grabbed me. He yanked me out of the apartment and threw me down the stairs. When I didn't get up for a couple of hours is when they took me to the hospital. They told them I was clumsy and fell and I went with it. It made them happy for a while. I didn't break anything but I did have a concussion." I confessed to him as I tried not to cry.

"Aria. You should've told me. I could've." He started but I pulled away and looked at him.

"What Archie? Could've done what? Like I said I doubt Aunt Mary and Uncle Fred would've believed me. Nobody did." I told him.

"I do. And so does Dilton. I'm sure Jughead would believe you as well. You have not once lied to us since you've been here. You had no reason to. I can talk to mom and dad and see if they can let you stay the rest of the school year here. I won't let you go back." He said as I smiled and hugged him.

"Thank you Archie. I love you." I told him.

"I love you too. You should shower before you sleep. You stink." He said as he pulled away and plugged his nose with one hand and used the other to wave it in front of him. My jaw dropped as I suddenly smacked him.

"I do NOT!" I scolded ad he tried to defend himself.

"You smell like gym socks." He said.

"You should know." I told him as he surrendered. I told him goodnight as I went to take a shower and then went off to sleep.

*Archie's POV*

Once Aria left I room I sat there and thought about what she said. Everything she told me. How could Aunt Dona and Uncle Bill do that to her? Once I heard the water running I called my dad on his cell.

"Hello?" I heard dad say on the other line.

"Dad. It's me." I said.

"Archie. Is there a problem?" He asked me as I sighed.

"I need to talk to you. Can you make sure your alone please?" I asked him.

"I'm outside the restaurant. What's wrong? Are you and Aria alright?" He asked me. I told him everything Aria told me and I mean EVERYTHING! I told him not to let mom know right away in case she over reacts and told him not to let Aria know either.

"I don't want her going back there dad. Haven't you noticed that the things they say about her like being rebellious or acting up and fighting all the time or even being a lier and cheating on tests hasn't happened since she's been here? She's scarred to go back there and she's scarred you and mom won't believe her. She's scarred to be judged, yelled, and scolded at. She's been very grateful and has shown it. Is there anyway you can convince them to let her stay? I don't want her hurt at all. Please dad. I wouldn't be asking this if I didn't feel like it was true." I told him as I heard him sigh.

"Growing up with my brother I noticed how mean and hurtful he could be, He pushed me down the front steps once. I thought he outgrew that. Maybe not. I've seen Dona drink a lot already so I don't think she's lying either. I'll talk to them and listen to what they say. It'll be tough but I'll see." He said.

"Thanks dad." I said as I sighed. We both said goodnight to each other and hung up the phone. I laid in bed and looked up at the ceiling as I started nodding off. I hope she can stay. I'm worried about her safety now. I ended up falling asleep.


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Driven To Distraction!

*Aria's POV*

It was now the third week of March here in Riverdale. A few days before the spring dance at Riverdale High. The dance was going to be held on the 20th of March, which was a Saturday, and they would open the school's gym for us. It was a sunny, and rather warm, Thursday afternoon and I was wearing my biker outfit but with flat black ankle boots instead of my small heeled ones with studded earrings and the usual half winged eye liner but this time added a touch of silver eyeliner under the black. I went inside the house to get us some soda to drink and decided to make sandwiches for me, Archie and Jughead.

*Archie's been working on his car a lot more than usual.* I thought as I sighed.

Archie had been working on his car little by little ever since he accidentally crashed into the trash cans the night of the potato alien attack. He just got the rest of the parts needed and all the cleaning materials to give 'Betsy' that extra glow. Problem was he had been working on it over the past two weekends _and_ even more over the weekdays after school. He was ignoring everybody again. I walked out the door and wasn't fully paying attention. I ended up bumping into Jughead, who hopped out of the car, and spilled the tray of sandwiches and soda all over the hood of the car.

"Whoa." I gasped out as Jughead grabbed me before I fell onto the ground.

"You alright Aria? I'm sorry." Jughead said to me, one arm around my waist and another on my back in a dipping motion, as I blushed a soft pink and nodded.

"Yeah. I'm okay." I managed to say.

"Aria! My car! I just cleaned Betsy off." Archie yelled as I sighed and stood up. I got out of Jughead's grip as I went over and started picking off sandwich parts.

"I'm sorry Archie. I'll help you clean up." I said as I bent down to grab a spare rag and started whipping the car off.

"No. Not like that. You'll just make it worse." He scolded as he tore the rag from my hands and whipped in a different motion. I just sighed and shook my head.

"I can help." I told him.

"Just clean up the ground and go away. You're only going to make it worse. You wouldn't know how to care for a car any ways." He scolded as I grew angry.

"YOU are suppose to teach me a bit but _no_. Instead you scold me and do it yourself. That's fine. I won't help." I raised my voice as I cleaned up and brought the wet and dirty destroyed sandwiches and partly to completely empty cans of soda on the tray into the house to throw away, clean the cans to recycle, and clean off the tray. As I started to clean the tray I heard someone come inside.

"Screwdriver off Archie." I scolded after I sighed in annoyance.

"Archie's still cleaning." I heard Jughead say as I turned my head to look at him.

"Oh I'm sorry Jughead. If I'd known it was you I wouldn't have said that." I told him as he came over to me.

"It's alright. Heck he scolded me about crumbs because I was eating a cookie in the back seat." He said as I chuckled a bit. I stopped and thought for a moment before I looked over at him.

"Wait? _You're_ the one who took the cookie off the counter?" I asked him. I had made cookies last night and I had one put aside for later.

"Yeah. Wait. Was it yours?" He asked as he got a bit worried. He knew by now not to take my food because I get mad. I just shook my head and turned off the water as I grabbed a towel and dried it off before putting it away. I continued talking from the moment I grabbed the towel.

"It's ok. You didn't know. Besides I can always make more." I told him as I heard a sigh of relief from Jughead. I then had an idea.

"Hey Jughead? Wanna come with me to Pop Tate's?" I asked him. He shook his head no.

"Sorry Aria. I have a project due with Archie and I need to pull him away from 'Betsy' to do so." He said as I sighed.

*I hoped you would've said yes like usual.* I thought.

"Must be important if you said no to Pops." I said as I went to grab my bag, that had my wallet, money, Ipod, and headphones in it, and my skates next to it as I walked to the front steps with him.

"If I don't get at least a C on this project I'll be failing." He said as I gasped.

"Oh no. Do you need help?" I asked him but he shook his head no.

"Archie will. Hopefully." He said as I nodded and put my skates on. We noticed Betty and Veronica talking with Archie before he walked away. Oh boy. We went over to them.

"Sorry girls. It looks like you have a new competitor." Jughead said.

"Yeah. And her name's Betsy." I mentioned as I used my thumb to point behind me towards Archie's car.

"This is getting ridiculous." Betty said in irritation.

"Yeah. Worse enough when he ignores me for _Betty_. But when he does for a _car._ " Veronica added as I shook my head.

"Do you two wanna head to Pops with me? Jughead's going to try and get Archie to help him with a project so it'll be us three. Besides it'd be nice to have some girl time for a change." I mentioned as they nodded.

"Sure. Why not?" Betty mentioned.

"I can drive us." Veronica said as I followed them to Betty's house next door. I didn't realize I stopped them from their jog but they said that it was fine. I also didn't know Veronica could be a slightly scary driver. We made it to Pops in one piece though and for that I was grateful. We got there and sat at a booth at the far right and ordered. They ordered salads and I got two burgers and nachos with extra Jalapeños. What? I'm hungry? And Jalapeños are one of the few veggies I'll willingly eat. We finished our food and paid for it as we drank our soda's and sighed. We were worried about Archie. As Betty was taking a drink of her soda Veronica started talking.

"I must be losing my touch. Archie barely noticed I was there." Veronica commented as Betty put her drink down. I was now starting to drink mine.

"Yeah. It was like talking to a brick wall." Betty said sadly as I put my drink down and shook my head.

"It's bad enough when Archie ignores us. But to yell at me for accidentally spilling food and soda on his car hood? At least I avoided the inside. He had the nerve to say I was cleaning wrong." I said in annoyance as then the three of us sighed and rested out faces onto our fists. Hopefully Archie will snap out of this soon.

"Greetings lucky ladies. Here I am to bring joy into your small humdrum lives." Reggie said as he took a seat next to me. At least his arm isn't around me. The three of us sighed and ignored Reggie.

"Why all the long faces?" He said with a look of irritation on his face. I don't blame him for it.

"Archie's taking me to the movie's Friday. But he's not making his usual big fuss over it." Veronica said to him. In my mind I smiled at the fact Archie fusses about it.

"Then forget Archie. _I'll_ take you. I'll fuss like there's no tomorrow." Reggie said with a smile. Was this flirting?

"That's nice. But I don't think so." Veronica said with an attitude that soon matched the look on her face. Go girl.

"How about you Betty? How about a night on the town with Mantle the Magnificent?" He said as he used one of his nicknames he gave himself. Okay he definitely was flirting now.

"No thanks. I'm to worried about Archie." Betty commented as Reggie then looked at them with a worried face. Then he turned to me. Oh boy.

"What about-" Reggie started before I glared at him.

"Don't even ask." I told him.

"What's up with you?" He asked me. I just sighed.

"Archie yelled at me when I bumped into Jughead and spilled sandwiches and soda on the hood of the car. Then scolded me that I wasn't cleaning the car right." I said as I looked away from him.

"That's not right." Reggie said. I just sighed.

"So does this have to do with Archie's car?" He asked towards the girls as they nodded.

"It seems that Archie cares more about his car then the people in his life." Betty said to him. Reggie got mad.

"Archie is lucky enough to have two beautiful females moping over him, and a beautiful cousin who cares for him." He said, adding me into the mix, and slammed his fist on the table before continuing.

"And all he wants to do is work on his car? Why that's unnatural. That's wasteful." He said in a disgusted tone as he stood up at the last sentence.

"I am morally offended. Archie needs to be set straight. And I'm just the guy to do it." Reggie said looking the opposite direction as me and smiling with his hands on his waist. He looked like a super hero. I looked at the door and I saw Vinnie come in. I looked forward and was nervous. Vinnie creeped me out.

*I need to get out of here before he notices me.* I thought as I then had an idea. I hated to ask but.

"Reggie? If your going to talk to Archie can you bring me home? As much as it pains me to ask I need to see if Jughead still needs help with their project, that Archie has most likely neglected, or not." I asked him as I felt a wave of nausea hit me. Man was that painful but it was better than dealing with Vinnie.

"Of course. I'd do anything to help you ladies out." He suddenly said as he stepped out of the booth and let me get out. I shot up immediately.

"Ill call you girls later." I said as I grabbed Reggie's wrist and bolted out the door and to his car. Now we were on our way there.

"So Doll Face? Why pick me for a ride? I'm sure what you told me wasn't the real reason." Reggie said, trying to make small talk, as my eyebrow twitched in annoyance over the pet name. I ignored it.

"That is why." I told him.

"I think there's more to it." He said as I rolled my eyes.

"Don't worry about it Reggie. Whatever it is I can handle it." I told him as he sighed.

"I'm trying to be pleasant here. You could at least talk to me while I take you home." He said as I sighed again. Should I tell him about Vinnie?

"There was a guy at the Malt Shoppe that I didn't want to deal with." I told him.

"Huh? Really? Who?" He asked me.

"Don't worry about it. He's just not that big of a deal yet. When it becomes one I'll let you know." I told him. In all do honesty if Dilton says Vinnie is dangerous then the less people to get involved the better.

"If you say so. You never let me finish my question though." He said as I now looked at him questionably.

"Question?" I asked him.

"Yes. I was going to ask you if you wanted to go to the movies with me. There's a new horror movie out and I immediately thought of you. Would you like to see it Friday?" He asked me as I stared at him. He's asking me out? Really? Well I _do_ want to see that movie but not with him.

"No thanks Reggie. I've got a lot on my mind right now." I told him.

"Will you think about it at least? It might keep your mind off of Archie and that guy whose bothering you." He told me. He's right. It would. I sighed and shook my head.

"Alright. I'll at least _think_ about it. But not as a date. As friends." I told him sternly as he smiled brightly. I was regretting that already.

"Great! I'll take friend zone if it means spending time with a beautiful girl like yourself." He said as I mentally groaned. Reggie Then parked the car across the street and got out. I got out of the car as well and we both started going over to the house. Reggie went to talk to Archie as I went to find Jughead. I looked in the garage and then in the house but didn't see him at all. I went over to the boys now.

"Archie? Where's Jughead?" I asked him.

"He said he was going home. Something about a project." He said as I got mad.

"Archie Andrews! Jughead needs you to help him finish that project by tomorrow or he's failing! I can't believe you! Your such an airhead!" I screamed at him.

"What? Failing?" Archie said.

"Yes! And you don't seem to care. He said no to Pops just to try and get it done before spring break starts! You didn't help him! You're neglecting everyone over this _machine!_ " I screamed as I kicked the car.

"Please step away from the car." We suddenly heard a robotic female voice say.

"Yikes! _What_ was _that?"_ Reggie asked.

"My new car alarm. I just installed it." Archie replied.

"Okay that's kinda cool but you're missing the point." I told him.

"Archie she's right. Your neglecting your friends for this _thing_. And besides what kind of thief would wanna steal a wreck on wheels like this anyways?" Reggie said as he used his thumb to point at it.

"Reggie! Too far man! Classic cars are reliable. Wait? What am I doing? Archie you need to stop this infatuation with your car before it spirals out of control." I told him as I tried not to go off topic. Guess Archie didn't hear me or chose to ignore me.

"Your just jealous of Betsy. Both of you. We don't have to stay here and take your abuse." Archie said as he pulled his keys out of his pocket, unlocked the car electronically, and walked to the car to get inside it. Then he buckled up and started the car.

"Archie." I said as he ignored me and began driving off.

"Why would _I_ be jealous of that rattle trap car? I own a new sports car. It drives like a dream!" He said as he used his hand to put next to his mouth to shout the last two sentences. I just shook my head and sighed.

"Let him learn the hard way." I muttered as I turned on my heal and headed down the side walk.

"Thanks for the ride Reggie." I shouted back as I tossed my hand over my head towards him.

"Where are you going?" He asked me.

"I'm going to Jughead's to help him with his report." I shouted back. I soon felt my wrist get grabbed. I looked at Reggie, who had his grip on me, and gave him a look.

"At least let me drive you. It'll be faster." He explained as I sighed.

"Fine." I said as I caved and let him drive me. It wasn't a long drive but it was a quiet one. We soon arrived and I quickly got out of the car.

"Thank again." I told him.

"No problem Doll Face." He said. I was about to scold him when he suddenly drove off. I guess he knew and didn't want to hear it. I shrugged and went up to the door. I knocked on it and a woman, who looked a bit like a older female Jughead, answered the door.

"Yes?" She asked me.

"Hello. You must be Jughead's mother. My name's Aria, I'm Archie's cousin and a friend of your son's. I was wondering if he was home so I could help him out with his project." I said to her as she went from slightly worried to cheerful.

"Oh! Your Aria. Oh yes he's home. Please come in." She said cheerfully as I smiled and walked in the house.

"Thank you." I said while passing her.

"Jughead as told me _so_ much about you. He says your a wonderful girl. I'm glad that he's friends with another girl." She told me as she then went near the stairs.

"Jughead!" She hollered.

"Yes mom?" I heard him ask.

"You have a friend here to see you. A pretty girl named Aria." She said as I blushed lightly. Next thing I knew Jughead, literally, jumped down the stairs in front of his mom and turned her towards the kitchen.

" _mom.~"_ he whispered a whine with light pink cheeks and pushed her in so they could talk.

*Was he….Blushing?* I thought as I heard only whispers. Soon he popped out of the kitchen.

"Hey Aria. What's up?" He asked me.

"I was wondering if you still needed help with your project. I'm sorry Archie's being an airhead. I want to help make sure you pass." I told him as I lightly blushed and looked away from him.

"Sure. I'd like that." He told me as I smiled at him.

"Great." I said.

"Do you two want anything to eat or drink?" Mrs. Jones suddenly appeared and asked. I lightly jumped as Jughead tried not to groan.

"Sure mom. Two orange soda's please." Jughead said to his mom.

"Thank you Mrs. Jones." I said politely as she smiled.

"Why don't you two go into the living room and I'll be right out with some snacks." Mrs. Jones said as we said okay. She smiled and went back into the kitchen.

"I'll be back. Make yourself comfortable." He said as I nodded. I sat on the couch and pulled out some supplies as Jughead soon came in and sat next to me.

"So what's the project?" I asked him.

"It's a report for History on 'Greek Mythology'." He told me.

"Oh yeah! One of the fun ones. What do you have so far?" I asked him as he showed me a paper with a few things on it.

"Jughead. I hate to tell you but some of these facts are wrong. Wait. Did you watch and copy some of this from Disney's Hercules?" I asked him as he nodded.

"Well sure. Why?" He asked me. I groaned.

"Jughead. Some of it was wrong. For example Zeus basically slept with all women, both human and goddess, even his daughters. Second Hera wasn't as kind and sweet as you think. She was jealous of most women who Zeus was with because she wanted him for herself and couldn't. Uhg. We're going to have to start by scratch." I told him as he groaned.

"Great." He said as I smiled.

"No worries. It says on the instructions that you only need to work on a god, goddess, hero, or mythical creature of your choice. More than one is optional." I told him as he smiled.

"Good. I don't think I could get it all done by tomorrow." He said as I smiled at him.

"I'll help you with it. I know most of these any ways." I told him.

"You do?" He asked as I nodded.

"I read a lot in school because I was alone a lot. I read a lot at home to so I wouldn't hear the yelling. History books were a few. No big deal." I told him as we got started. We didn't notice Mrs. Jones was by the door listening to this whole thing before she decided to bring in the food and drinks. It took 3 hours but it was worth it. If Jughead got an A+ Then it would be superb.

"I should be leaving now." I told him as I stretched before grabbing my things.

"Is Archie getting you?" He asked me.

"No. We had a fight about his car obsession." I told him.

"Did you get here on your own?" He asked me as I shook my head.

"No. Reggie brought me. He had brought me home before dropping me off here. He was there to talk to Archie about the car thing as well." I said as Jughead grew shocked.

"Reggie? You got in a car with _him?"_ he asked me as I nodded.

"Yeah. It was not so bad but something I wouldn't want to do again." I told him as he nodded.

"Are you walking home?" He asked me.

"Skating." I told him. He walked with me out the door.

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" He asked me.

"I'll be fine Jughead. I'll see you at school tomorrow okay? Let me know how you did on your project." I told him as I put my skates on.

"I will." He said as we smiled at each other. We waved goodbye as I skated off towards home. I got home the sun was barely setting as Archie got out of his car. Guess he just got home.

"Archie." I said as I stopped him. We were now standing in front of the car.

"Archie listen. I don't want us fighting okay? I get it. You love your car. And I'm sorry that I kicked it. I had absolutely no right to do that. Could you maybe spend a bit less time on the car and at least spend time with us? An hour or so a day?" I apologized to him and soon asked these questions to him. We both didn't notice Betsy glaring at me.

"I guess. And don't worry about it. Betsy has no scuffs or dents." He said as I sighed. There he goes with the car again.

"Let's head inside. I helped Jughead with the report. It has both of your names on it so don't worry." I told him as we went inside.

*Betsy's POV*

I had just listened to his cousin. The nerve of her. She kicked me and he's not even mad at her. Well I am! I don't care if she's his cousin. I don't even care if she likes me. Archie is mine. No one will stop me from having him all to myself. Not Betty. Not Veronica. Not those boys Reggie and Jughead. And _especially_ not his cousin Aria!

*Next Day Aria's POV*

The way to school was weird. It felt weird. The car itself felt weird. My seatbelt had unbuckled at one point when we stopped. I smacked into the dashboard. Ouch. Another point trying to get out the seatbelt tightened up on me and hurt me a bit. When I shut the door behind me it opened up and smacked me. Not fun. My outfit of the day was my original outfit with usual make up. After school I told Archie I would meet with Jughead to see if he passed or not. Archie was fine with it and drove off faster than I could blink. I just shrugged and went looking for Jughead. I found Reggie instead.

"Hey Doll Face. Did you think about the movies?" He asked me.

*Right. I forgot.*I thought.

"Not tonight Reggie. We can go another time." I told him.

"You sure? Has Archie seen the error of his ways?" He asked me as I sighed.

"No. But I just don't feel like it tonight." I told him.

"That's fine. How about we go to the dance together?" He asked me.

"No. I'd rather go by myself and meet up with everyone else there." I told him.

"Aw come on Doll Face. You don't want to spend time with me?" He asked me in a hurt tone.

"Not tonight Reggie." I simply told him. Soon Jughead was there.

"Why don't you go bug someone else." Jughead said.

"I was just asking her to the movies. She said no so I'll go." He said as he walked away in a small huff.

"Hey Jughead." I smiled at him.

"How'd you do?" I asked him. He suddenly pulled out a piece of paper and held it up to me with a bright smile on his face. B+. I smiled brightly at him.

"Jughead that's wonderful." I said to him as we walked out the door.

"It's all thanks to you Aria." He said as I blushed lightly.

"Wanna head to Pops to celebrate? My treat!" I said as he brightened up.

"How can I say no to you? Especially if it's Pops and free food." He said while licking his lips. I blushed and looked away from him.

*'How can I say no to you?' What did he mean by that? Him licking his lips is cute. STOP! NO! Don't think like that. Although I wish he would hold me like he did yesterday when I bumped into him. NO! No no no!* I thought as , before I knew it, we were off school grounds.

"I couldn't have gotten a B+ without you." I managed to hear him say. I looked at him and smiled.

"If you ever need help just ask me alright? I don't want to see you fail." I told him as he agreed. We had ate at Pops and headed up to see Archie.

"He should be at Ronnie's already." I told him.

"Nope. he's working on his car." he said.

"How do you know?" I asked him as he pointed in front of us. My face deadpanned and my eyebrow was twitching.

"Oh come on." I muttered as we walked up to Archie, Who was now sitting on the grass, and started talking to him.

"I've got to hand it to ya Arch. For a doomed man you sure know how to keep your cool." Jughead said casually to him.

"Huh? What do ya mean?" Archie asked.

"Um Archie? You have to pick up Ronnie in 15 minutes for dinner and a movie." I told him.

"Yeah. When you show up looking like that she's going to kill you." Jughead added in as Archie then paled.

"Oh no! My date with Veronica! I forgot!" He said yelled as he quickly went into the house.

"I'm glad I'm not him." I said casually. In less than 5 minutes he was cleaned and tossing on his jacket.

"Archie? Forgetting a date? It's getting to the point where you can't count on anything these days." He said just as Archie pulled out his keys, ran past us, and went to get into the car.

"All this fuss for what? Another _expensive_ date with Veronica." Jughead froze as Archie then looked at us after he opened the door.

"Oh no! Expensive!" He said as he came over to us and pulled out his pockets to show us they were empty.

"I'm broke!" He said as we gasped.

"I spent all my allowance on a pair of dice for Betsy." He said. Now I'm fuming.

"Archie Andrews!" I yelled. That's all I could get out really. Jughead went over to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulder as he spoke.

"Broke on a date with Veronica. I'll miss ya bud. Where should we send the flowers for your funeral?" Jughead said as I giggled.

"Aria?" Archie said as he looked at me. Uh oh. The begging eyes.

"No! No no no! I used my money at Pops and your not even touching my emergency stash cash. Nope!" I flat out told him.

"Oh Jughead amigo." He said as he looked at Jughead. Really? That desperate? Soon Jughead was backing up.

"Oh no! Your not doing what I think your doing." Jughead said.

"If he did it with me then he's going to with you." I mentioned as Archie continued.

"Come on Jughead. Fold me a $20 until my next allowance." Archie was now making Jughead back up with his hands up.

"Keep away. Your subverting the natural order of the universe. _I'm_ supposed to mooch off _you_ not the other way around _!"_ Jughead pointed out as I giggled a bit.

*Wait. Jughead _never_ mooches off of me.* I thought. He will mooch off of everyone else but me. Only when I offer does he say yes. Other than that he _has_ paid for me twice.

"Please Jughead. It's a matter of life or death. I'm begging on my knees." He said as he, was indeed on his knees, began to make crying sounds. Big baby.

"Stay strong Jughead. Don't-" I started but it was too late.

"Okay okay! Jeez. Don't cry." He said as he pulled out his money. Archie soon stood up and was handed a $20.

"Here. But lets keep this our little secret, this could ruin my reputation." He scolded and pointed a finger at him as Archie broke out into a smile. How pathetic was my cousin?

"Thanks Jughead." Archie said as he then hopped in the car and started it up.

"Unbelievable." I muttered when I got next to Jughead.

"I feel so…. _used!"_ Jughead said as Archie drove off.

"Well. Um. D-do you want to come inside?" I asked him with a small stutter.

"I guess." He said as we went inside.

"Jughead? Can I talk to you since we're alone now?" I asked him as I got real nervous. Why?

"Sure. Is something wrong?" He asked me while walking to the couch and flopping onto it. I sat down next to him and sighed.

"I think it's time I told you about my parents and my life once I turned 7. Archie didn't now either. I had ended up blurting this to Dilton and told Archie to be fair. Now it's your turn. Only you, Archie, Dilton and I will know. You three are my best friends in the whole world. I know I can trust you." I said as I finally looked at him. He went from casually leaning into the couch with a large smile on his face to up straight and serious.

"Really? You're ready to tell me?" He asked me as I nodded.

"Heads up I might cry a bit so don't worry on that." I told him as he nodded. I had ended up telling him everything I had told Archie. I had to stop to breathe shaky breaths and in the end I still ended up with a few tears falling down my face. I whipped them away as I then felt a pair of strong arms around me.

"J-Jughead?" I questioned.

"I'm sorry you had to go through all that alone. Now I understand why you eat almost as much as I do. Why you looked too thin and a bit pale until now. Why you were so eager to try and make friends and grew shocked when I stated you were my friend. Also why you practice fighting and speak your mind. I understand now. No one should go through that. You'll always have me to talk to. You'll always have me by your side." He said as he held me tighter. I hugged him back.

"Thank you." I whispered back to him. It was nice to talk to someone about this. I just don't know how I'm going to handle going back home if needed. We held each other for a moment longer before I decided to end this nice moment.

"Jughead? Do you wanna stay over? I'd like to watch a movie with you." I asked him and mentioned the movie thing.

"Sure. I like watching horror movies with you." He said with a smile as he pulled me away from him to see him.

"I'll get some snacks and drinks then. You can pick the movie if you'd like." I said as I got up and headed to the kitchen.

"Sure." He said when I walked past him.

"And Jughead." I said as he turned to look at me.

"Thank you. For listening." I said as I smiled a genuine and content smile. He smiled back.

"No problem." He said as I turned around and went into the kitchen for some food.

*Jughead's POV*

Once Aria went into the kitchen I looked at the movies but wasn't really paying attention to them. All I could think about was what she had said to me.

*How could her own parents hurt her? I thought my parents were bad with nagging but that? How can she stay sweet and kind? Maybe because that's who she really is. Maybe because she doesn't want to see that happen to anyone.* I thought as grabbed a movie and looked at it. It was a Stephen King movie. No surprise there. The movie was though.

"Silver Bullet?" I questioned out loud.

"The book was better." Aria said behind me.

"Yikes!" I screamed as I turned to see her set a tray filled with snacks, food, and soda onto the table.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." She said with an apologetic look on her face.

"No. It's alright. I just didn't hear you that's all. Are you sure it's okay? I mean after the werewolf." I started but trailed off.

"It's cool. I know this movie already. Besides I'm better about it now." She said with a smile.

"Alright then." I said with a smile as I popped it and then settled down onto the couch next to her.

"The Movie it was based off of was a Stephen King book called 'Cycle of the Werewolf'. Really good." She told me just as the movie was starting. I wasn't concentrated fully on the movie. It was good but I couldn't keep my eyes off of Aria. She was eating popcorn and she looked so cute.

*She's so cute when she eats popcorn one by one slowly.* I thought as she the took a small sip of her soda before continuing with the popcorn. I felt weird around her.

*Why did I think she was cute? Why did I get embarrassed when mom called her pretty? Why did I blush? I get why I'm protective of her but when she hugs me. I don't know.* I thought as I mentally sighed. Soon the movie was over but Archie wasn't home yet. That's strange.

"Jughead." I heard Aria say as I looked at her.

"Yeah?" I asked her.

"Do you need to go home?" She asked me. Yes. Yes I did. But Archie wasn't back yet and I didn't want her here alone.

"Well Archie's not back yet so I'll stay until then." He said as she smiled.

"If your sure." She said as I nodded. Soon we were watching 'Friday the 13th the TV series' and it was actually really good. Once we hit episode 9 I looked over and noticed she fell asleep. She looked so peaceful. I turned the TV off and went to the front to look out. It was now 10 at night and Archie _still_ wasn't back yet.

"Where are you Arch?" I asked myself quietly. Looks like I might stay the night. I decided to call home and let them know what's happening. I went into the kitchen and grabbed the phone and called home. It rang twice before the line picked up.

"Hello?" I heard my mom say.

"Mom. It's me." I said to her.

"Jughead Jones! It is 10 o'clock at night! Explain to me why you are not home or called sooner!" My mother yelled on the other end.

"Mom. Keep it down. Aria's in the next room asleep." I told her.

"What's going on?" She asked me as I sighed.

"I was watching a movie and a few episodes of a series to be with her until Archie came back home. Her aunt and uncle are visiting her parents while on a business trip so it's just her and Arch. She didn't want to be alone and I didn't want her to either. She fell asleep but Archie still isn't back yet. I don't know if he will be or not. I wanted to let you know that if he does come home then I'll have him bring me home but if not then I don't want to leave her here alone." I told her as she sighed on the other end.

"Well she's nice. I'm glad she helped you out. I guess it's alright this one time. By the way what was your grade?" When she said I could stay this one time I mentally cheered. She asked me for my grade results on my paper and smiled at the fact Aria helped me get that grade.

"B+ mom." I told her as I heard her clap and cheer.

"I'm so proud of you! Now remember to be a gentleman and nothing bad." She said to me.

" _mom!~"_ I whined at her and turned pink again. What is wrong with me?

"Goodnight Jughead." I heard mom say.

"Goodnight." I said as I hung up the phone. I decided to wake Aria up so she could go to bed but when I went up to her she had curled up on her side and looked so cute.

*I can't wake her up.* I thought as I then decided to carry her to bed. I slowly picked her up and soon found out she wasn't heavy at all. Actually she was really light.

*She's lighter than I thought.* I thought to myself as I carried her up the stairs and to her bedroom door. I put her feet on the ground and used the now free hand to open the door before I picked her up again and brought her to the bed. I set her feet down once more to pull the covers back and put her on the bed before pulling the blanket over her and tucking her in. I looked at her as she sighed and smiled a bit in her sleep.

*Man she's cute. Why am I thinking these things? What's wrong with me?* I thought as I sneaked out of her room and quietly closed the door. I made my way downstairs and cleaned up the mess in the living room for her. I then grabbed the spare blanket and pillow from the closet and set it up on the couch before I laid there and fell asleep.

*Morning Aria's POV*

I woke up and saw I was in my room.

*I don't remember coming in here.* I thought to myself. I looked at the clock and it read 10 am. I pulled back the covers and saw that I was still in my clothes from yesterday.

"Did Archie? Or maybe Jughead?" I said quietly as I grabbed my jean shorts, my 'Little Monster' shirt and my short boots I wore yesterday as I went to shower. I had my music playing and had started singing to it. I got out and dried off, cleaning off my old make up, and got ready. I walked out of the bathroom to grab my jewelry and make up when I smelt something delicious from the kitchen. As soon as I smelt it my stomach growled loudly.

"Well I am hungry. Archie must be home." I thought as I went down the stairs to get food. Archie's seen me with no make up and no jewelry on so it's not a big deal. When I got into the kitchen I saw Jughead, wearing an apron and holding a spatula, put a bunch of yummy looking pancakes on the island. He looked up and saw me.

"Morning Aria. I made breakfast." He said as he went back to flipping more pancakes. Did he stay the night?

"Um thanks." I said as I sat down.

"Jughead? Did you stay here _all_ night?" I asked cautiously.

"Yeah. Archie never came home last night and I said I wasn't going to leave you here alone until he came home." He said casually.

"Oh Jughead you didn't have to." I told him as I started looking at the different pancakes.

"It's fine. I called my mom and let her know. I brought you to bed last night so I could sleep on the couch. Also cleaned up our mess. And I figured since I was up I'd make breakfast since you did last time." He told me as he piled the last of the pancakes on the island.

"You didn't have to but thank you." I said.

"It's no problem. The cook book you gave me for Christmas really paid off." He said as I blushed. He read it.

"We have chocolate banana swirl, blueberry and strawberry mix, and peaches and cream." He told me. I grabbed the peaches and put whip cream on it for the cream part and added syrup before digging in.

"I haven't had peaches and cream pancakes in years." I said through a somewhat full mouth as I continued eating.

"Jughead these are amazing." I said as I shoved a large forkful in my mouth.

"Glad you like them." He said as he took the chocolate banana swirl and consumed them all. I consumed all the peaches and cream.

"By the way *Munch swallow* I noticed your not wearing make up." He said as he and I split the berry swirl one. I froze.

*I forgot I wasn't wearing any.* I thought as I hid my face.

"I look horrible. I'm sorry. I thought you were Archie." I said as I was ready to get up to put some on.

"No don't." He suddenly said as I stopped and looked at him.

"You look nice with make up but you look more natural without it." He said as I blushed a bright red.

"O-oh. Th-thank y-you-u?" I stuttered a thank you as a question. How was I suppose to react. I've worn make up since I was 13 and always felt better with it on then without.

"You should not wear make up more often. It's nice." He said as I blushed a deeper red. I continued to eat my food.

"You going to the dance tonight? I'm sure Archie will be there." He asked me and when he mentioned Archie I shot my head up.

"Yeah. I need to see why he didn't come home. Wait? Sugar. I forgot the dance was tonight. Archie was suppose to drive me to the mall so I can pick up a new shirt." I mentioned.

"Don't worry. I have my skates so we can go together." He said as I blushed again.

"Thanks Jughead." I said quietly.

"What are best friends for?" He said as I finished my pancakes before him and bolted up the stairs. I put on simple black eyeliner and decided to wear my silver and purple bangles as I ran down the stairs and met Jughead at the steps to clip my skates on. We soon skated to the mall and I got a leggings that were purple and blue with touches of pink and white diamond stars to look like the galaxy and even had silver outlines of the enterprise from star trek (Loot crate special btw if you need to look up what they look like.) along with a loose black mid sleeve (stops at elbows) that covers my stomach with open shoulders and slits, that help open up the sleeves of the shirt, that had black big beads that went around the neck and shoulders. We went to Jughead's so he could change and he let me change in the bathroom. I put my stuff in my backpack and pulled out my make up to add in a touch of silver eye liner with my black and pulled out silver glitter to put on my face and some clear gloss for my lips. I took my hair out of it's usual ponytail and put it in a sideways high ponytail and took my bangles off. I put in silver hoop earrings and looked at myself with content before I cleaned up and head down stairs. We decided to get a bite at Pops, since it was early, which I also paid for since Archie took his money, and then headed to the dance to meet up with the others. We got there and immediately saw Veronica, Betty, and Reggie.

"Whoa! Doll Face! Super hot!" Reggie said as he went over to me and began the flirting. I ignored him. We waited for Archie and he never showed up so I looked at Veronica.

"Veronica when was the last time you saw Archie? He never came home last night." I told her.

"Not since last night when I left him at Pops when his car spilled oil on me." She said. The car.

"Did his car do anything else?" I asked.

"It smothered me against the wind shield and even smacked me with the door. The alarm also told me to step away from Archie and even said my name." She admitted.

"Car alarms can't do that." I said.

"I also saw the car chase Reggie around the parking lot but before Archie could see it it went back to it's spot." She said as I grew shock.

"Is that true Reggie?" I turned and asked him.

"Yeah! And it even chased me up the light post." He admitted.

"Sounds like his car's possessed." I said.

"How can a _car_ be possessed?" She asked me.

"Simple. By either a spirit, which is not the case most likely, or by an object that can curse it. Like the car alarm or any new part he got." I said as I tried to think about it. The dice? Before we could ponder on it any longer we saw Archie's car pointing it's headlights at us.

"Look. There's Archie's car." Jughead said and pointed to it.

"And no one's driving it just like yesterday." Reggie said as the car soon sped towards us.

"It looks like it's heading straight for us." Jughead said as we then looked at each other before looking back at the car.

"It's heading straight for us!" All five of us shouted as we went into the gym but it followed us in and wrecked the place up. I saw Chuck and Nancy were in the way so I grabbed them and shoved them into the closet.

"Stay here. You'll be safer." I said as I shut it and made a run for it. Betsy soon had me in her sights as I bolted as fast as I could out the door. I turned a corner and saw the others up on the statue. Betsy was now hot on my tail.

"Aria! Hurry!" Jughead yelled as I jumped onto the statue and climbed up and clung on with the others.

"I told you it sounded like it was possessed!" I shouted as we clung on for our lives. Archie where are you?

"You can't stay up there forever!" Betsy taunted us as she circled us. She was right.

"We can sure try!" Reggie yelled back.

"Reggie shut up!" I scolded.

"Once I get rid of you five I'll have Archie all to myself!" Betsy told us. She was in love with him? Oh great! Betty and Veronica started slipping so Reggie and I helped them back up. This was not good.

"Can't we discuss this?" Betty asked.

"I know a nice European luxury sedan. I can introduce you two sometime. You'd make a nice couple." Veronica mentioned.

"I don't think she's interested." I said as we soon got Betty and Veronica situated. I was starting to loose my grip. Sugar not now. The car was circling faster now and that's when I saw someone coming closer to us. Is that?

"Archie!" I yelled as he got closer to us to see the situation. Soon Jughead was slipping.

"Jughead!" Archie yelled.

"I'm falling." Jughead yelled. I tried to steady him but it didn't work out. He fell with an oof as Betsy then noticed him. Not good.

"Try to eat cookies in _my_ back seat will you?" Betsy said as she charged at him. I felt something strong hit me as I then grew angry. Jughead layed there as I then jumped behind him. I grabbed his shirt and pant loop and threw him to the statue as I glared at Betsy.

"Too far this time!" I screamed as I ran at the car. Yeah I was seeing red at that point. As it looked like the car would hit me I jumped on the hood and hopped in the driver side. I needed to control her. I put on the brakes and the emergency brake and even put it in park as I went to take the keys out. No keys.

"You can't stop me! I never liked you from the start!" She said as the seat suddenly reclined and the back seat belts pulled me back and held me there. She unparked herself and released the emergency break as she sped around. The seat belts were restraining me and hurting me badly.

"Spill food and drinks on me will you? Clean me off wrong. Even kicked me. Your the biggest reason why Archie won't spend time with me. I'll gladly get rid of you 1st." Betsy shouted as I screamed. I saw the door open and the passenger seat recline forward as the seat belts the started pulling me to the open door.

"I'd hate to make a mess but to be rid of you and be with Archie is worth it." She said as I got the idea. She was going to bash my head in with the door. I really started struggling now before I saw Archie get in the car.

"Archie!" I shouted.

"Aria!" He said as he went to undo me.

"Forget me. Figure out what you put in here to make her alive!" I shouted as the seat belts covered my mouth and brought me closer to the door. I couldn't hear Archie but I heard Betsy talking to him.

"How could you prefer _them_ to _me!_ " Betsy shouted. Yup she was pissed.

"Their my friends. And she's my cousin. Their people. Your just a thing." I barely heard him say. He finally got it. My head was closer to the door when it shut in front of my face. I saw Archie closed it as he tried to control Betsy. He was now flying out of the car as the door opened again. I struggled even more.

"You betray me for mere flash and blood!" She shouted in anger. Archie started climbing up just as I was close to the door. I muffled a scream as suddenly the seat belts loosened their grip on me and the car slowed down a bit. I pushed away from the open door just as we crashed and all I remember is my cousin flying out of the car and I slammed into the seats with the seat belts still on me as I blacked out.

*Third POV*

Betty, Reggie, Veronica and Jughead surrounded Archie to see if he was alright.

"He's not moving." Betty shrieked.

"Buddy. Speak to us." Reggie said and waved a hand in front of his face. Archie was awake but still processing all of this.

"You don't have to pay me back that $20. Just get up." Jughead said worrying for his best friend.

"Archie-kins. Are you alright?" Veronica asked as he blinked a few times. He has a content smile on his face.

"I'm fine. Now that my friends are safe." He said as h\they helped him up. Archie looked at each one of them but then froze.

"Where's Aria?" He asked as suddenly everyone grew shocked.

"I didn't see her fly out of the car." Reggie pointed out.

"Aria!" Jughead yelled and bolted to the car's back seat where she was last seen. The group grew slightly shocked over how worried Jughead was of her but Archie knew why. He knew Jughead might have loved her. He figured that out with Dilton too. Archie soon ran to the car and was next to Jughead, who was holding Aria's upper body, trying to wake her up and remove the seat belts.

"Aria! Speak to me! You didn't have to save me. Please wake up." He said as she stirred a bit. She wasn't waking up though.

"Aria I'm sorry. I'm sorry for yelling at you. I know it wasn't your fault for spilling food and soda on the car. I shouldn't have yelled at you for trying to help. I'm not even mad at you for kicking the car. Please wake up." Archie said in a worried tone as everyone else gathered around. Aria made a few sounds and twitched as bit before finally starting to open her eyes.

"Jughead?" She questioned. She had opened her eyes to see him first. Then she tilted her head back to see everyone else looking at her with relief.

"Hey guys." Aria said to them in a tired way as she gave a weak smile.

"Are you okay?" Jughead asked her in a concerned way. She blinked at him and went pink from the way he spoke to her and held her before speaking again.

"I feel like I got hit by a car but I'm alright." Aria responded as she then started to get up and stretch herself. She smiled as she turned to them.

"I'm not suffering from a concussion so far and no signs or feels of broken bones nor fractures so, other than maybe a few bruises, I'll live." Aria responded with a smile towards them as they all sighed with relief.

"Thank goodness. I don't know what would happen if I lost you. If I lost any of you." Archie confessed as he and Jughead pulled her out of the car before Archie hugged her close to him. She smiled and hugged him back. Archie was back to his old self and that made her happy. Aria then looked and gasped over how smashed up the car was.

"Oh no Archie! Your car." She said in sadness.

"Well Betsy seems to be normal again." Archie sighed with a look of disappointment.

"Yeah. But what a wreck." Reggie replied. Aria grew sad.

*Looks like we might not see him for a while.* She thought to herself.

"Sorry Archie-kins" Veronica said to him.

"It'll take you weeks to repair all that damage." Betty mentioned.

"I guess we won't be seeing much of you until you get Betsy up and running again." Jughead said as if reading Aria's thought. All five of them looked sadly at Archie until he spoke up.

"I'll get some Auto Shop to fix Betsy." He said as he let go of Aria and went up to Jughead and put his arm around his friend's shoulder.

"Besides. I'd rather spend time with my friends." He said with a smile on his face. Soon everyone smiled as all six of them went on there way to find a phone to call a tow truck to bring Betsy to an auto shop. They all commented on how Archie was back and how they missed him. A man with black and white hair dressed in red robes, known as Dr. Beaumont, suddenly appeared without the kids noticing. He picked up the dice Archie had purchased from him and began speaking to himself.

"Can't leave _these_ lying around where _anyone_ can pick them up." He said as he began cleaning them off.

"Not everyone needs to learn this lesson." He said while looking both ways before walking off and disappearing into the night. By now the gang decided to hang out tomorrow and let Aria and Archie go home. Well not before Jughead pulled Aria aside so they could talk alone.

"Aria. Why'd ya jump in the way and toss me to safety? You could've been killed." He scolded while she shrugged her shoulders and looked away.

"It's not a big deal." Aria mumbled as Jughead couldn't process this.

*How could she think it's not a big deal? She could've been killed. I care to much for that to happen.* Jughead thought as he grew shocked at his own thoughts. He cared to much for her to let her get hurt or killed.

"You're someone I care for Jughead. I'd do it for anyone I cared for. I just saw the car going towards you and I got mad to where I saw red. I didn't want to loose you." Aria suddenly blurted out as she tried very hard not to cry. Ever since she met everyone in Riverdale she wanted friends and adventure. She got what she wished for except now she cares about Jughead and Dilton to loose them. She doesn't want to loose any of her friends and never wants to leave Riverdale but now she had another problem. She concluded to herself after tonight that she cared the most for Dilton _and_ Jughead. She would even dare to go as far as love.

*But do they?* Was all she could think to herself.

"Please don't do anything else reckless." Jughead suddenly said as he hugged her and held her close to him. Jughead didn't like to see her cry and Aria hated crying in front of others. She pushed her tears away and smiled. Aria then pulled away from him, smile still there, as she teasingly said

"No promises." As Jughead shook his head. They both knew Aria was a daredevil and would act before thinking half of the time. Especially out of anger or if it involved her friends. Jughead then put his hand on her head and ruffled her hair while laughing.

"Yeah. Can't make ya." He said as he then stopped. Aria then whined and tried to fix her messy hair. They both didn't see that Reggie, Veronica and Betty left and that Archie was watching them.

*Jughead loves her. But so does Dilton. Now what? Two of my friends love my cousin and she either loves one or both of them. How am I going to handle this?* He thought to himself. He failed to notice that Aria and Jughead had said goodbye and that she was now in front of her cousin.

"Ready?" Aria asked as Archie was then pulled out of his thoughts but smiled at Aria.

"Yeah." He said as they walked inside the house. They then started the article together.

*Aria's POV*

"So there you have it dear readers. This week's 'Archie's and Aria's Weird Mysteries' column. ~Aria. But we'd like to close with one final thought. A pair of dice possessing a car and turning it into an intelligent, and jealous monster, may seem hard to believe. ~Archie. But even harder to believe is that Archie allowed himself to forget that people are more important than things. ~Aria. How that had happened is probably one of the weirdest mysteries of all time. ~Archie.…...In a little town called Riverdale. ~Archie and Aria."

We finished the column and headed off to bed. I had a lot on my mind. I finally realized that I care a lot for both Jughead and Dilton. That strong caring feeling is most likely love. I kept raking my mind over their words and actions towards me and tried to figure out if either one liked me like that or not. I was now in a night gown as I rubbed my now hurting head.

*I'll figure it out tomorrow.* I concluded as I tucked myself into bed and drifted off to sleep.


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16: A Fight And A Story!

*Aria's POV*

It was now a few days into April and I was happy. Aunt Mary and Uncle Fred Came back 2 days after Archie's car was wrecked, and while that took some explaining and Archie being grounded, they told me I could stay here for the next school year and maybe summer as well. I was so happy I could continue school here. I was walking around Riverdale and, while I was happy to stay, I grew bored. I had no one to hang with today and there were no real good mysteries. I know it has been a bit past one week but come on. Oh well. Weather was nice though. I had decided to go to Pops to get a bite to eat when I happened to run into Big Ethel.

"Hey BE!" I called to her. Yeah a little while back I started calling her BE for Big Ethel. She didn't mind it since she had a bee club. She invited me but I told her of my allergy.

"Hey Aria. What ya doing?" She asked me.

"I'm heading down to Pops. Wanna join me? I could use the company." I asked her.

"Sure. I was heading down there anyway. We can have lunch together." She said as I smiled at her. We walked down there and got a booth in the back.

"What do you kids want?" Pops asked us.

"I'll have a burger and fries please." BE ordered. I pulled out my money and did a quick count. I was short today so no burgers I guess.

"I'll just get my usual nachos and a coke with no ice please." I said.

"No usual 5+ burgers today?" He asked me as I shook my head.

"I don't have enough today so I'll just stick with nachos." I said with a smile. Pops left to get our food together.

"Wow. 5 Burgers?" BE asked me.

"I tend to eat a lot. Plus some days I get more." I confessed as I went pink and rubbed the back of my head in an awkward way.

"It's funny how much you eat and don't gain weight like Jughead does." She said as I looked at her.

"Oh no I do gain weight. Actually since I've arrived I've gain 12 pounds. It's not that I can't it's just that I work out a lot and move enough to be okay. Plus gaining the weight wasn't bad." I told her as I then silenced myself.

"Sorry. I ramble sometimes." I told her as she smiled at me.

"Don't apologize. It's not a bad thing. It gets people to know you better is all." She said as I smiled at her. Soon our food came and we were digging in. I barely ate 1/3 of my nachos before someone sat next to me and wrapped an arm around me. I froze in my place and by the looks on BE's face it was not a good person.

"Hey babe. Miss me?" I heard a familiar voice. Vinnie Wells.

"What? Shocked to see me?" He asked as I didn't move. Yeah Vinnie freaked me out more than werewolves did.

"Guess so. Gonna share your nachos with me this time or buy me some too." He asked me as I snapped out of it and looked at him.

"Get your arm off me and _go away_!" I scolded him.

"Hey! I'm willing to forgive last time but learn to treat me better babe." He said as he then leaned in next to my face.

"Or I'll have to make you." He whispered as I shuttered. I didn't even want to _know_ what he had in mind.

"Hey leave her alone Vinnie. In fact bug off." BE said as he glared at her.

"Wasn't talking to you bucktoothed freak." He raised his voice a bit at her as she scrunched back and looked ready to cry a bit. I was pissed now.

"Don't you yell at my friend like that." I yelled at him as he then glared at me.

"I'm warning you babe." He started but I interrupted him.

"No! _I'm_ warning _you!_ Leave now and I'll forget the whole thing or I'll make you!" I was starting to yell at him.

"You seriously can't be defending _her!_ She's a bucktoothed freak who shouldn't see the light of day! And she definitely shouldn't be around _my_ babe!" He said as he wrapped an arm around me and used the other to make me look at him. **Now** I saw red. I head butted him in the nose as he flung back. Once he let go of me I sprung up and tackled him. I grabbed his wrist when he tried to punch me and I nearly dislocated his shoulder when I pulled it behind him. He screamed in pain. My face was slightly red and I looked madder then a bull seeing red.

"I don't care if you treat me like an object or even touch me but you do not, I repeat, you do **not bully my friends!** **Any** of them!" I screamed as I put my foot on his back and tugged his arm a bit, earning a yelp, and calmed down a little bit.

"You got that?" I questioned him with venom in my voice.

"I got it." He muttered.

"What was that?" I asked as I tugged again earning another yelp.

"I got it!" He shouted.

" Good! Now apologize to her." I said to him.

"I'm not going to-YOW!" He started to say but then yelped when I tugged harder than needed.

"I didn't quite catch that. What did you say?" I asked him.

"Grr. Sorry Buck-YOW! Alright Alright! Sorry. um." He growled and went to insult her but I tugged again and started to make him apologize correctly before he stopped. He didn't even know her name.

"Ethel." I told him.

"Sorry Ethel." He muttered until I tugged and he yelped again.

"Okay okay! Sorry Ethel!" He shouted as I loosened up a bit.

"Good boy!" I told him before grabbing him and throwing him out the door. I whipped my hands together and went back to BE to enjoy our food.

"I'm sorry about that. He seems to like to bother me a lot. I just hated the fact that he insulted you." I told her as I took a bite of my nachos. I could feel everyone staring still.

"It's alright. I'm used to it. I'm surprised you let him talk to you like that though." She commented as I shrugged.

"Eh. I'm used to it. I probably would've kicked him away from me again. I just saw red when he insulted you and didn't want me being your friend. Yeah calling me his didn't help either but I don't like my friends bullied at all." I told her with a smile. Soon Pops came over to us.

"Aria. I don't allow fighting in the Shoppe." He told me.

"I'm sorry Pops but in reality it was in defence out of fear of BE or myself being harmed in any way. And he was touching me and I didn't like that." I told him.

"I saw everything but I'm afraid I am going to have to ask you to leave." He said as I frowned a bit.

"I get it." I told him.

"I don't want to but if I was lenient towards you then I would be to everyone else. I can wrap up your food if you like." He said as I smiled and nodded.

"Sure. And again I understand." I told him.

"Can you wrap mine up too please?" BE asked him as Pops nodded and walked away.

"BE you don't have to." I started but she shook her head.

"It's okay. I'd rather not stay knowing you got kicked out. Besides we could hang out a bit longer." She said as I nodded and smiled at her. She was a great friend. Pops put our food in containers and we paid for our food before we left the Shoppe and walked around a bit while talking. I explained what happened last time and she understood. It was soon getting dark and I waked her close to her house before I headed home. She tried to talk me out of it but I told her I'd be okay. It was getting dark fast so I stopped near a bench and pulled out my skates from my bag. I clipped them on and was soon on my way home. The sooner I got home the better. I passed by the library and shuddered. I've been meaning to get a library card, since the school library was super small and limited on books and you couldn't take them home either, but kept pushing it off. This library felt cold and creepy and I couldn't explain why. I finally made it home and took off my skates before I walked inside. Just as soon as I did though.

"Aria Andrews! Living room! Now!" I heard Uncle Fred yell. Uh oh. I'm in trouble. I walked in and saw the werewolf sheriff, with the silver chain still on him, and my Aunt and Uncle in the room.

"What's wrong?" I asked innocently.

"Sit!" My Uncle said as I gulped and sat down.

"We didn't convince your parents for you to stay here another year just to fight people. What were you thinking?" My Uncle scolded me. How'd they find out?

"But-" I started but was interrupted.

"I had gotten an anonymous call that you started a fight at Pop Tate's. Is that true Miss Andrews?" He questioned me as I sighed.

"I didn't start it." I said to them.

"But you _were_ in one?" Uncle Fred asked as I nodded.

"What were you thinking?" Uncle Fred yelled at me as I held back tears.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I got into a fight. I've been doing good but he started touching me and insulting Big Ethel and I got mad. I didn't know what else to do. It's just that Vinnie-" I was saying before I was interrupted.

"Hold on. Did you say Vinnie as in Vinnie Wells?" He asked as I nodded.

"He's bothered me before and I pushed him away. He keeps calling me 'Babe' and 'His' and keeps putting his arm around me or touching my face. He threatened to 'Teach me a lesson' and yelled and insulted my friend. I only did it to make him apologize and leave us alone. I'm Sorry!" I screamed the last part as I started bawling my eyes out. I didn't want Uncle Fred yelling at me anymore. He sounded like my father. I didn't want him or Aunt Mary disappointed in me. I felt someone sit next to me and hold me close to them and rub my arm.

"It's alright sweetie. Don't cry." I heard Aunt Mary comfort me.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Uncle Fred asked.

"I don't want anyone to worry. I'm used to dealing with these things alone. Archie doesn't even know." I said as I started to stop crying.

"Miss Andrews if this is true then you're not in trouble at all. Vinnie Wells is a delinquent and it wouldn't surprise me if he did start this. I'll have to ask witnesses though." The Sheriff said.

"Pops had to kick me out but I think he knew what happened. I don't remember who else was there but Big Ethel was with me and witnessed the whole thing first hand. She wouldn't lie. You can ask them both sheriff. I wouldn't fight unless needed. You know that." I said to him as I indirectly pointed out the 'You know that' part towards him for the werewolf incident. He in fact _did_ remember that I would fight if I had no choice. He smiled lightly at me and nodded.

"I know Miss Andrews. I remember. Which is why I believe you. Your not in trouble. After I talk to those two I'll chock it up as self defence and leave it at that. I'll see to it that Mr. Wells is fined for all this." He said as I, finally, looked up at him with wet eyes, tear stained cheeks, a small smile on my lips that appeared when I saw him smile and nodded at him.

"Mr. and Mrs. Andrews. Miss Andrews. Have a pleasant evening and sorry to have bothered you." He said as Uncle Fred showed him out the door. When Uncle Fred came back in he looked at me and sighed while shaking his head. Suddenly the door busted open.

"Mom. Dad. What was the sheriff doing here." He asked as he then looked and saw me crying.

"Aria? What happened?" He asked me but Uncle Fred spoke to stop me.

"Mary. Take Archie upstairs. You can tell him what happened but I need to talk to Aria alone." He said as she nodded. She then grabbed Archie and led him upstairs to his room. Once they were gone Uncle Fred glared at me. I shrunk back and gulped. He came over to me and I closed my eyes and shrunk back even more. I then heard the cushions on the chair near me and then a small sigh.

"I know my brother hits you when you get into a fight. I'm not going to though. I just want to talk to you." He said as I started to sit normally and looked at him.

"Archie told you didn't he?" I asked as he nodded.

"He told me what both of them did to you and, after seeing how you reacted, I believe you. I thought for a moment that they were right with some of the fights when the sheriff came but if you say it was defense then I believe you. I've heard of Vinnie Wells and his bad attitude. But what I want to know is why you didn't say anything sooner? Why didn't you just tell me or Mary or even Archie? Why keep it to yourself?" He asked me as I sighed a shaky breath.

"I'm used to dad or mom punishing me for it. I don't need to worry Archie at all and make him over protective. I especially didn't want to worry you nor Aunt Mary about something stupid like this. I doubt he would fully act on his aggressive actions but, even so, that's why I started to train to defend myself. I just don't want to be a Home wrecking troublesome brat like my father always says I am. I'm starting to think he's right." I say as I took a few more shaky breaths and looked down.

"You are **not** a home wrecking troublesome brat. My brother is wrong. You've been a delight and a big help around here. You've helped Archie with his grades, you've helped us keep thing clean and in order, you've been doing wonderful in school. I've gotten phone calls from Principal Weatherbee and he's told me how active you are around the school. How you've helped the kids in your classes, how the teachers praise you, and how you even help with set ups and clean ups around the school. Everyone thinks your wonderful. Even the sheriff knows you wouldn't do this unless necessary. He said so before you showed up. But I would like to be kept informed if your being bullied or are in trouble with something. Mary and I are willing to help any way we can. Archie would help if we weren't here to. You can talk to us about _anything_ you know that." He said as I teared up and looked at him.

"I know but…..When you started yelling you sounded like dad and I-I." I said before I buried my face in my hands and cried again. I soon felt him next to me.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stir up anything." He said as I felt his hand rub my back to comfort me. As he did though he stopped.

"Aria What's this?" He asked me as I knew what he was talking about. I pulled away from him and looked at him with a frightened look.

"N-nothing." I stuttered but we both knew I was lying. I sighed and looked away.

"You don't need to see it." I told him as he stood up.

"I'd like to." He said as he came over. I sighed.

"You better get Aunt Mary too. But not Archie. I don't want him to see at all." I told him.

"Mary. Could you please come down here. Archie! Stay in your room!" He yelled. Soon I heard Aunt Mary come down the stairs and into the living room.

"What is it Fred?" She asked him.

"Aria has something on her back that I want to see. She wants you here to see too." He said to her.

"Go on." Aunt Mary said in a calming way as I sighed. I turned my back towards them and removed my top. I heard them gasp as a tear fell down my eye. I had a burn mark, a large one from a small part of my upper right part of my back to my right ribs. It looked bad really. I always covered up and always wore a black top over my swim suit for that reason.

"What happened. How did you get those?" Aunt Mary asked me. I explained it to them.

*Flashback to 12 years old."

" _Hey Toots. Wanna try some?" Some drunk in his twenties had come up to me, while I was sitting at a park bench waiting for mom to sober up a bit or for dad to come home, and sat next to me holding up a cigarette and offered it to me._

 _"_ _No. I'm good." I told him._

 _"_ _Then how bout a drink? Hm?" He showed me a bottle of booze, probably vodka, in a brown paper bag and pushed it towards me. I grimaced at the smell and pushed it away from me._

 _"_ _No. I'm too young to drink." I told him as I pushed myself away from him._

 _"_ _Come on. I won't tell." He said as he pushed it closer to me._

 _"_ _I said no." I said loudly as I scooted away a bit more. He then grabbed me_ _by my arm and pulled me to him._

 _"_ _Come on Toots." He said as he poured the vodka into my mouth and spilled it all over me as well. I pushed him away and spat it out as I coughed and choked on it. I had swallowed a bit as I spat the rest up._

 _"_ _Aw too strong?" He asked me as he tried again. I smacked the bottle from his hand as it then smashed on the ground. He was pissed now._

 _"_ _You ungrateful little bitch. I give you good vodka and you waste it on me?" He yelled as he attacked me. As soon as he did I screamed and fought as hard as I could. A bit of my shirt ripped as he then got off me and kicked me. I protected my stomach and head as he kicked my back._

 _"_ _This'll teach you." He said as I looked and saw him drop his cigarette on me._

 _"_ _Hey! Stop!" I heard someone yell. Just as they said that and he ran the cigarette landed on me_ _and my side burst in flames._

 _"_ _HELP!" I screamed and cried as the fire burned into my flesh. I was put out after a few minutes and brought to the hospital. My parents didn't believe me and, if it wasn't for the eye witnesses, the cops and doctors wouldn't have believed me either. The man was found dead later on and the 1_ _st_ _and 2_ _nd_ _degree burns I had suffered on my arm, side, back and stomach healed up with no scars. But the small patch I have scared was from the 3_ _rd_ _degree burn that never healed. No one had rubbed close to there so no one knew. I was glad about that._

*Flashback Over.*

"And that's what happened." I explained as I put my shirt back on. I turned and looked at my Aunt and Uncle's horrified faces. My Aunt covered her mouth and was crying while my Uncle looked like he was going to be sick.

"Is that why he told me that you might sneak alcohol in your room?" He asked me as I was stunned about that one.

"I guess. I had alcohol in my system because of that. As I said if it wasn't for the witnesses then I would've been charged with under age drinking. If dad is saying that _I_ have the drinking problem than that's why. Thank goodness no rehabilitation group believed him nor my mother." I commented as I then hugged my Aunt.

"Please don't cry Aunt Mary. That event is the reason why I started taking martial arts. So nothing like that would happen again." I said as I rubbed her back and comforted her as best as I could.

"We had no idea." Uncle Fred said.

"Archie doesn't even know. I really don't want him to either." I said to them.

"I heard everything." I heard Archie say as we all turned and looked at him.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He said as he put his hands up in a why/I don't know motion while walking up to me.

"Because this was when you were sick and had a fever. I couldn't tell you then. I didn't want to tell you at all. You were having a great summer and I didn't want to ruin it for you. Not at all." I said as a tear fell down my cheek.

"Aria you could've told me anyways. Is that why you talked about getting a tattoo around there?" He asked me.

"What? A tattoo?" Uncle Fred blurted out as Aunt Mary looked at me.

"When I turn 18. I learned that since I couldn't get surgery to heal it I would get a wonderful tattoo to cover it and hide it from the world. Problem is I haven't figured out what I wanted yet." I explained to them. Uncle Fred sighed.

"One problem at a time I suppose. When your 18 we legally can not stop you. As for the discussion earlier about the fight." He said looking at me as I bit the bottom of my lip. Grounded?

"I want you to clean the garage this weekend. Not because of the fight but because you didn't tell us about what happened sooner and for you about to not tell us about this either." Uncle Fred told me. That's it?

"Your not grounding me?" I asked him.

"No. You've been doing to good for yourself. Just clean the garage and think about telling us, or at least Archie, next time something like this happens. Understand?" He asked me as I nodded.

"Yes Uncle. I understand. And I didn't mean to worry and upset you." I told them. I really do need to learn to open up more. The three soon smiled at me.

"Good. Now lets eat dinner. We're having chicken." Aunt Mary said as we went into the kitchen. The weekend soon came and I cleaned out the garage by my self. It took all of Saturday but I used Sunday to organize. I had a few calls from some friends to hang out over the weekend but I just said I was cleaning the garage this weekend and didn't really say why. I ended up showing Archie my burn and he was so mad he punched the wall in his room. I just comforted him and told him I was fine. I begged Archie not to let anyone else know and he promised he wouldn't. I ended up going to bed that night feeling a little better that I talked more about my bottled up past to someone. It hurt but it hurt more to bottle it all up.


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Cinemadness!

*Aria's POV* (P.S. one of my favorite episodes because it shows Reggie has a heart and how nerdy Jughead gets with movies and it's just a good episode in general.)

It was now science class, on a Monday, and we had to parter up to work on chemical compounds. I paired up with Dilton immediately since he knew chemicals better than I did. He was showing me what to do and I'm glad he showed me because I made an error in my notes. He told me if I would've done that then the chemicals would explode. Thank you smart guy!

"Dilton I owe you one." I told him with a smile as I mixed the last of the chemicals together.

"It's not a big thing." He said as I looked at him.

"Yes it is!" I told him as I moved the chemicals onto the work station and away from me.

"I would've probably got detention and had to clean. Not fun." I told him. Suddenly there was a small boom splat sound. I looked ahead and saw that someone messed up like I almost did and a big mess everywhere. Wonder who did that?

*Jughead's POV before explosion*

I had been transferred to this science class period because I had an opportunity to thanks to an open space. So I've been in this class for about two weeks now and, actually, rose my grade up a bit. When I found out Aria happened to be in this class I had decided not to goof around and show her how smart I could be. I had just got done talking to Archie, Betty and Veronica about the revival theater and asked if they wanted to come with me. Archie, apparently, made a date with both girls on the same night before he made an excuse and bolted off. I gave an annoyed look as I went back to Reggie, who I got stuck with, and was trying to think of who to take with me.

*Maybe Aria?* I thought as I stole a quick glance towards her and Dilton. She had chosen Dilton rather quickly. I don't think she realized that I'm actually somewhat good at chemistry when I take notes. I always do for this class. I hated the fact that she always chose Dilton for a partner. I wish she'd pick me for once. I sighed as I started talking to Reggie.

"Everything okay?" I asked him.

"Fat lot you care. Your to busy convincing some _sucker_ to go see your _odd ball_ monster flicks." Reggie said. I was getting a bit annoyed with him.

"If I go to the movies alone, then people will think I'm some _obsessed_ weirdo." I told him.

"You _are_ an obsessed weirdo." Reggie rudely pointed out. I put my fists on my sides as I tried not to get irritated even more.

"Yeah! But I'm an obsessed weirdo with _feelings_." I pointed out as I smiled. I saw him mixing chemicals and thought of something.

"Have you been following your notes?" I asked him as I looked into his open notebook. What I saw shocked me.

"Huh?" Was all I could say. I saw a picture of Reggie posed like he usually does when he flirts with girls. But that's not what shocked me. What shocked me was behind him he drew a few girls who were crying or had broken hearts around them while next to him was Aria, in an 'I 3 Reggie' tee, clinging on to his arm, looking up at him with a sweet smile and hearts around her, as she seemed love struck. I wanted to tear the picture out and shred it. I decided against it when Reggie started talking to me.

"Like I don't know what I'm doing." He replied before we were engulfed in smoke with a boom splat sound to go with it. When I cleared the smoke there was a huge mess. This can't get any worse.

"Jughead! Reggie! Stay here after class!" The professor told us. It got worse.

"Jughead. Are you okay?" I heard Aria ask me as she suddenly appeared by my side with a worried look. I smiled at her. She finally noticed me.

"Yeah. Just sticky." I told her as she then picked up a small rag and started cleaning me off.

"It's real bad. We might have to use some sort of powder to clean it off." She mumbled towards me. I felt like I was in heaven. Then the bell rang.

"Sorry Jughead." She said as she then left. Dang it! That's when Principal Weatherbee came in.

*Aria's POV*

I felt bad leaving Jughead alone, with Reggie, to suffer the punishment of Principal Weatherbee. I'm sure it's Reggie's fault somehow. I hope Reggie gets in trouble and not Jughead. But I know better. Either both of them would get in trouble or just Jughead. I sighed as I decided to wait for him outside of the school. Maybe a burger from Pop's would help. I waited for him outside for 35 minutes until both of them came out. I walked over to them.

"How bad?" I asked them. Judging how Reggie was smiling and Jughead frowning I knew what happened.

"I took the fall for Reggie." Jughead said as I grew upset. I punched Reggie in the arm.

"Ow." He yelped in pain.

"You need to learn to take responsibility." I scolded.

"It's okay. We made a deal that I would take the fall if he goes to the revival theater with me." He said as I looked at him.

"Oh." I said in shock. I was sad now. He didn't even ask me.

*Did I make him upset? Did he forget to ask me?* I thought to myself. I guess Jughead saw my sadness.

"I forgot to ask you didn't I? Would you like to go too?" He asked me.

"Please say yes. It'll make it a little bit tolerable." Reggie perked up. I smiled.

"Sure. As long as I don't sit next to Reggie. I want him to suffer." I said as I smiled at him. Reggie pouted a bit from that.

"So it's Friday?" I asked as he nodded.

"Wanna eat at Pop's 1st before the movie?" I asked them.

"Yeah! Always!" Jughead said as I giggled at his attitude towards it.

"I guess it's better than nothing." Reggie stated as we walked off together.

*Friday At 5pm*

We finished eating at Pop's and made it to the theater 10 minutes before it started. Jughead paid for my ticket, he couldn't use the unlimited one for revivals which was sad, and he got a big enough popcorn to share. I got a candy bar and two soda's. I offered to get Reggie one but he refused. Oh well. Now we were soon getting to our seats, Jughead and I dragged Reggie to the 6th row to get a great view without a neck cramp, as it went Reggie, Jughead, and myself in the row.

"I remember seeing this once. It'd be nice to see it again." I confessed.

"This is one of the good ones." Jughead commented towards me. Soon the movie started and it was off to a good start. I didn't mind black and white films.

"The studio _insisted_ on authentic Indian rubber for the monster suits." Jughead whispered to us.

"It's used to make them more realistic and better at producing less sweat." I added in.

"Yeah that's right." Jughead whispered again as he ate a handful of popcorn.

"Fascinating. I'm so glad to be here." Reggie replied in a sarcastic tone.

"Then take responsibility." I muttered as I ate more popcorn.

"You owed me one." Jughead pointed out as he offered Reggie some popcorn. Reggie held his hand up to signal no as Jughead reclined back. I tried to focus on the movie again.

"Don't worry about the time. The is the special 3 hour director's cut." Jughead mentioned.

"Sweet." I said while eating the popcorn I had in my hand one at a time.

"But this is so boring. Boring! Bo-odacious!" I heard Reggie as I figured he took notice to the female lead. Vanessa Blaze.

"Ah! I see you've discovered B movie scream Queen Vanessa Blaze." Jughead said, confirming my suspicions. I wish I was as beautiful as her. Flawless skin, unlike my freckles, long smooth bouncy hair, unlike my while long yes but not that smooth without work and not as bouncy as hers, perfect shaped eyes and lips, while my eyes were too roundish and my lips not as plump, and she even had a better body than me. She was perfectly curved and had large like breasts, while my body was stick like. No curve, not big breasts, just not perfect. I sighed out of slight jealousy and disappointment of my looks.

*Does Jughead like this kind of woman?* I thought to myself. I had ignored a small part of the movie and the conversation. Sometime during the movie I reached my hand into the popcorn bowl to get more when I felt a hand on top of mine. I perked up and looked to see Jughead's hand on mine. I looked at him and he looked at me. Our eyes met when we suddenly retracted back. I looked away from him with a red face. I didn't see his was red as well.

*Why did I pull away?* I thought to myself as I tried to watch the rest of the movie. I was going to be flustered for a while now. By now the movie was over and Reggie couldn't wait to see it again. I rolled my eyes.

*At least he'll cut back on the flirting.* I thought to myself. Reggie went one way home as Jughead and I started heading another.

"How'd ya like the movie?" Jughead asked me.

"It was better than I remembered. Especially the cut scenes I never saw before." I told him. I couldn't help but feel self conscious now.

"Is something wrong?" Jughead asked me.

"No. Nothing." I lied while shaking my head no. What was I supposed to say?

"Are you sure?" He asked, almost insisting, to make sure.

"Yeah. I'm fine." I said as we continued. I felt like I was being watched but I couldn't confirm it.

"Do you, maybe, wanna do something tomorrow?" Jughead asked me. I shook my head no.

"Can't. Going to see Tyler tomorrow." I told him.

"Oh. Okay." He said as he looked crushed. _Did_ he want me to say yes?

"I have Sunday free though if you don't mind going to the park with me while I work on my art project." I told him. He perked up right away.

"Sure! Maybe I can help." He said in excitement. Soon we parted ways and said goodnight. On the way home I _still_ felt like I was being watched but I pushed it aside. Once I got close to home the feeling was gone and I could relax a little bit. Once I got home I had dinner and then went to bed. Maybe I imagined being followed? I didn't see anyone around. I decided to sleep for the night.

*The next day*

I was at Tyler's house and he wanted me to model for his project. I tried to tell him it had to be natural or in nature so he took me to the back yard and showed me a kitten, that comes around a lot, and play with him by the flowers. I sighed but said fine. It looked nice. We went inside and drank some soda and relaxed a bit.

"Do you need help with your project?" He asked me as I shook my head no.

"I'm going to the park with Jughead tomorrow and see what I can do there." I told him.

"You seem to hang around Dilton and Jughead a lot." He commented.

"Yeah? They're my friends." I told him.

"So nothing is going on?" He asked me out of the blue.

"I'm not sure what you mean." I said as I looked at him. Tyler suddenly pulled me close and kissed me on the cheek. I gaped at what he just did.

"Well since nothing is going on and your single then you wouldn't mind that." He told me with that sly smile of his. I was just at a loss of words.

"I'm willing to go slow and wait until you want to date but I don't want the other's to make moves on you. I know Ronin already did and so did Collins." He told me.

*Make moves? Wait. Ronin? That night I was attacked? And Collins? Christmas Eve? They made moves? Others? Oh Gingersnaps they're crushing on me.* I mentally smacked my head after realizing all of this.

"But I would like to kiss you for real." Tyler said, snapping me out of my thoughts, as he leaned in to kiss me with his eyes closed. I put my hand up and blocked him. He opened his eyes and they questioned me.

"Tyler. Your very sweet. But I'm not into you like that. I. Well I." I said as I put my hand down and looked away from him with a red face.

"You're crushing on Dilton and Jughead huh?" He asked me. My eyes went wide as I looked at him.

"How'd-" I started to ask.

"I can tell. I could on Halloween when you hugged Jughead. I saw it with Dilton in the halls a few times how he makes you blush lightly sometimes. I notice these things. I just didn't want to believe it." He said as he sighed. He then let go of me and looked away. I'm sure I made him feel bad.

"I'm so sorry if I lead you or the others on. I never meant to. I was never really flirted with so it's hard to tell. Reggie I can tell but that's Reggie. I'm sorry." I told him as I lightly touched his hand. He looked at me and smiled.

"Nah! It's my fault. I shouldn't have pushed like that." He said as he lightly smiled.

"I still want to be friends. I view you guys like brothers I never had." I said as I smiled at him.

"I understand that. I'll let the guys know and you can confirm it on Monday." He said as I smiled at him. I soon left and decided to eat at Pop's.

*I haven't ate all day.* I thought as I got there. I walked in and saw Reggie talking with everyone. I decided to go over and see what was up.

"Hey guys. What's going on here?" I asked as I pointed to Reggie in question.

"I was just telling them that if Vanessa Blaze ever met me she'd be all over me. If only I could go to Hollywood. Vanessa and I would make the perfect couple." Reggie said with confidence. He saw the look on my face.

"What's the matter Aria? Jealous?" He asked me. I shook my head lightly.

"Reggie. I'm not sure how to say this." I started off as I sighed and sat next to Archie.

"Vanessa Blaze is dead." I told him in a sad tone.

"What?!" He questioned and exclaimed at the same time. I nodded lightly and sighed again.

"She died in a plane crash 20 years ago. I'm sorry I had to be the one to tell you. If you don't believe me then look it up. It was in the news papers. The only reason I know is because I looked up her name and saw the article online." I told him. I hated to tell him. What I hated more was the sadness in his eyes. He must really be in love to feel that kind of sadness.

"Say it ain't so!" Reggie practically hollered as he looked to Jughead. Jughead nodded.

"She's right Reggie." He told him. Suddenly Reggie got really depressed and rested his cheeks on his open hands.

"That's not fair." Reggie pouted. I felt really bad now.

"I do have some good news. The revival theater is showing another Vanessa Blaze film starting Friday." He mentioned.

"Really?" Reggie perked up.

"Yeah. One I've never seen. Biker Chicks vs The Tiny Terrors. A real departure for her as an actress." Jughead stated.

"Yeah. In that one she's blonde." I added. Jughead and Reggie looked at me.

"I saw almost the whole thing. The power went out near the ending so I never got to finish it. Mind if I come?" I asked Jughead.

"Not at all." He said.

"I'm there." Reggie said, filled with excitement, as I smiled at him being happy.

"Fan boy." Veronica said to him. I giggled a bit. I ordered food and left for the day.

*Time skip to Friday*

A lot had happened before today. Sunday Jughead helped me with finding a nice secluded place in the park to sketch, Monday I did let the guys know how I felt about them and apologized for leading them on. They were bummed that I wasn't into any of them but they were happy that I viewed them like friends/brothers. I got an A+ on my art project, no surprise there, and managed to get a B- on a pop quiz in French class. Now it's Friday night and Jughead couldn't go but I was still going to see it with Reggie. As bad as that was. We finished the movie and started walking out.

"Wow! The ending was even _more epic_ than I thought. Right Reggie?" I asked but no response.

"Reggie?" I asked as I looked and soon saw him drive off to who knows where.

"Really?" I muttered in annoyance. I shrugged and walked home from there.

*Saturday morning around 10:30 am*

I had skipped going out with Archie and said I'd meet him later. I wasn't feeling so good today. I heard the theater got destroyed last night during the final showing of the night until tomorrow in the late afternoon. Also found out that half the town got destroyed by either rabid raccoons or monkeys or something along those lines. I was hoping to both feel better and see if the theater was opened and cleaned up. I tried to eat something but I wasn't up for it at all. Uhg. I wanted to investigate this and see if this _is_ a weird mystery or not. I'm sure it is. It's rarely not. I got ready and headed out with a few snacks and drinks in my bag for when I'm better. I had roamed around town and saw the mess. What ever did this did a good job at the destruction.

"Definitely **not** rabid raccoons." I muttered to myself. I rounded the corner and gasped at the sight. I saw little green monster imps trashing a car.

*No way. Those look like The Tiny Terrors. But how?* I thought as they spotted me.

"Attack!" I heard the one with the crown scream and then giggle as they came at me.

"Uh oh." I thought as, before I knew it, I was jumped on. I shrieked as they tore my new plain black tank top apart and threw dirt and oil on me.

"Shoo! Go!" I heard a familiar voice as they ran off. I looked and saw small car parts get tossed at them. I looked up at my savior as he helped me up.

"Thanks Jughead. Where did they come from?" I asked.

"No problem. We're not sure but we think they came out of the movie with Carlotta." He told me.

"Wait Carlotta? As in the biker chick leader?" I asked as he nodded.

"This has Reggie written and stained all over it!" I said.

"Yeah. She was with Reggie." He said as I groaned.

"That boy _needs_ to take responsibility." I said.

"How much do you know about the movie?" Jughead asked me.

"Enough to know. Why?" I asked as he then started dragging me somewhere.

"Come on then. You're going to help us with this. I'll meet them at Reggie's." He said.

"But there heading for the daycare. Didn't Reggie say he had a 3 year old niece?" I asked as he looked at me.

"Your right. We need to warn Reggie." He said.

"But the sooner we get to the daycare the better." I mentioned. Jughead scowled in thought of what to do.

"Ok. You head for the daycare and try to get the kids out. I'll get Reggie and Archie fast." He said as I nodded my head and split up.

*He's cute when he takes charge. NOT NOW HEART!* I thought and mentally scolded myself as I ran to the daycare center. It took me a while to get there because they had let the zoo animals out and I had to avoid a tiger. Not fun. I was right. They were at the daycare causing trouble. They were messing everything up. I heard the kids crying as I ran into the room. I saw no adults and the king go over to a little girl with brown hair in pigtails and blue eyes with a pink sweater and a yellow skirt. I saw other imps eating the snacks, destroying toys, and scarring the kids. I'm mad now. I grabbed a broom from outside the room and ran inside and swatted them away.

"Get away from these kids!" I yelled and smacked a few. They didn't like that. I had my broom yanked from me so I grabbed some toys and threw it at them.

"Amy!" I heard Reggie say. I looked over and saw the king get closer to that girl. She must be Amy. I ran over and soon shielded her as he went to swipe.

"That's my niece you little creep!" I heard Reggie say as I protected her. Reggie had rolled a toy over and knocked him out.

"Amy. Are you okay?" I heard Reggie ask as I let go of her so he could pick her up and check on her. She had a few tears fall and they hugged each other.

*He cares so much for her. Why can't he _always_ be this nice?* I thought to myself.

"Reggie! Get the king. You need to trap him in something. Archie! Jughead! Get these imps out of here. I'll get the kids to safety!" I yelled out as I took Amy from Reggie and looked at her.

"It's okay sweetie. I'm Reggie's friend. I'm here to help." I told her as she nodded and clung on to me. I soon gathered up the kids and kicked a couple imps away from them as I lead them to a safe part of the daycare. I couldn't leave them alone with out an adult.

"Aria hurry." Jughead ran in here.

"I can't leave them alone. Try to find a worker or a parent. I'll stay here until then. I'll meet you at the theater." I told him as he nodded and ran off. I was comforting the kids and cleaning there faces when a few of the parents arrived. They thanked me and took looked after the kids.

"Amy." I heard a voice as I saw a man who looked like an older and better looking Reggie. His brother.

"Daddy." She yelled and ran over to him.

"Thank you miss." He said to me.

"Thank Reggie. He helped a lot along with Archie and Jughead." I told him.

"You wouldn't happen to be Aria Andrews would you?" He asked me as I nodded.

"I'd like to chat but I need to help them get rid of those imps." I said as I darted off to the theater. I ran inside just in time to see Reggie jump into the movie on a bike along with Carlotta and the imps following behind him and into the screen.

"Reggie!" I yelled as I ran up to Archie and Miss Lucinda.

"How do we get him out?" I shouted as Reggie looked panicked.

"Now Jughead. Now!" I heard Miss Lucinda shout as then the filmed stopped rolling. I blinked and then saw Reggie on the floor.

"Reggie! Your back." Veronica, Betty and I said at the same time as we went over to help him up.

"Wow. I guess I did it. That's right! Reggie Mantle! Super Hero!" He boasted and I let him go. He's back. I then looked at Miss Lucinda and smiled.

"You knew just what to do didn't you? So that Reggie wouldn't be stuck there forever." I questioned her as she smiled and nodded.

"I made the portal so only those who escaped could go back. To bring Reggie back all we need to do was stop the film." She said as I smiled.

"You did this to teach Reggie responsibility didn't you Miss Lucinda?" I asked her as she nodded.

"I always know what's best." She said with a smile. I soon felt someone hug me tightly.

"Aria thank you! Thank you for helping save my niece Amy. Your an angel." He told me as Jughead came down and saw this. He looked upset of sorts.

"Reggie? You're welcome and all that. But your starting to choke me a bit." I told him as he let me go.

"Sorry." He said. Soon we headed home as Reggie helped clean up the town and put the animals away. Archie and I got started on the article. Man I missed a lot. Especially when Reggie emailed us his part of the story.

"And so the imps were returned to their movie world and Reggie gave up his 'new' girlfriend. ~Aria. There was a lot of clean up work thanks to the imps visit. Reggie was so delighted with this new responsibility that he helped volunteer to round up the loose zoo animals. ~Archie. Now see? If Reggie could stay that nice and responsible like I saw today then he'd have a wonderful girlfriend in no time. ~Aria. Getting off subject Aria. ~Archie. Sorry. ~Aria. Anyways. I guess it was seeing the scarred faces of those kids that convinced him to do the right thing. ~Archie. Especially since one was his niece. ~Aria. Of course Reggie gave up going to Jughead's movies. ~Archie. Which is good for me since I won't get asked out to them by Reggie anymore. Hopefully. ~Aria. You're doing it again. ~Archie. Sorry. Again. ~Aria. Anyways he gave up those movies, for now, but then again everyone has different tastes. ~Archie. …...In a little town called Riverdale! ~Archie and Aria." We finished the article and called it a night. I decided, before going to bed, to see if I can fix/improve my ripped tank top some how. But that's for another time as I soon fell asleep.


	19. Chapter 18

**OKAY FANS! DON'T KILL ME! MY 1ST FAN MADE MYSTERY! PLEASE LET ME KNOW HOW I DID! I DON'T CARE HOW HARSH YOU ARE ABOUT IT I TRIED AND IT WASN'T EASY! JUST DON'T KILL ME!**

Chapter 18: Curse Of The Robot Dummy!

*Dilton's POV*

I was rummaging in my basement, looking for old inventions I could improve or don't need for parts, and forgot how many boxes I had to go through.

"I have more than I thought." I muttered to myself as I went to grab a different box. Unfortunately I miscalculated and ended up having a few boxes fall on me.

"Wah!" I yelped when they fell. I managed to wiggle and crawl out from under them before I stood up and adjusted my glasses.

"Great. A bigger mess." I mumbled as I then noticed a strange box.

"What's this?" I questioned to myself as I opened it. It was my old robotic ventriloquist puppet. He had black hair, green eyes, and in a dark green suit. What was his name? Alfred? No. Edgar? Nope. Not that. What was it.

"I remember. It was Vlad." I said as I looked at him.

"What a failed project. Maybe I can use some of the parts." I thought as I brought him, and a few other gadgets, upstairs into my room.(Think of Screech's room from 'Saved By The Bell' alright?) I set them down on my desk and started to pull a few apart. I didn't need them anyways. I then looked at Vlad.

"It'd be ashame to take you apart. I don't think I could fix you though." I thought to myself as I started to have flashbacks of the times Vlad and I had together until I made him alive through technology. I shook away the memories as I undid his back.

"It needs to be done. I don't want him anyways." I said as I started messing with his wires and screws. I hit a wrong wire and ended up shocking myself.

"Ouch!" I shouted as I dropped him on the desk and the screwdriver on the floor.

"Great." I muttered as I bent down to pick it up. I sat back up and looked at where I put Vlad but I didn't see him.

"Strange. I thought I left him here." I muttered.

"Hello Dilton!" I heard a creepy familiar voice. I gulped and turned around to see Vlad, turned on and sitting on my bed, looking back at me.

"Wah!" I screamed as I fell off my chair and trembled.

"Don't worry Dilton. I won't hurt you. Even though you forgot me and left me to rot. Did you really try to take me apart? Why? Friends forever remember buddy?" He talked to me as I trembled in fear.

"I created you. I-I can e-e-easily get rid o-of you." I tried to sound brave but stuttered. Next thing I knew I got slapped by him and then grabbed by the collar of my shirt.

"Listen buddy. I'm willing to forgive you for all that but I want one thing." He said to me as I looked at him.

"What's that?" I asked him as I gulped.

"I want a new friend." He said to me.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because you don't want me. I want a friend who is smart and will care for me. I'll keep you as my friend until then." He said as I shuttered.

"You started making me your servant." I scolded him.

"Same thing." He said to me. Now what am I going to do?

*Next Day Aria's POV*

Man I wasn't feeling so good. It's been almost 3 days since the imps attacked and I felt a bit sick. I ignored it and figured it would pass. It wasn't so bad. I just didn't eat much was all. Anyways I was next to Dilton during science class and he seemed off today.

"Dilton? Are you okay?" I asked him as he nodded.

"Yes. Why do you ask?" He asked me.

"You don't seem like you is all." I confessed as I looked at him. I was worried about him.

"I'm fine." He said as I looked at him.

"If your sure." I told him as he nodded. I continued with my work. Dilton was acting funny but if he said he was fine then I had to trust him. I tried to talk with him all day but he ignored me. After school Archie and I went home and I went to bed.

*Why is he ignoring me? Did I do something wrong?* I thought as I heard a knock on my door.

"Come in." I said sadly as I heard my door open.

"Something wrong sweetie?" I heard my aunt ask.

"No. Not really. Just not feeling well." I told her.

"Alright. If that's all." She said as she closed my door. I got into my night gown and went to bed.

*The next day Aria's POV*

I had, yet again, tried to talk to Dilton but he pushed me away and was acting funny. It was now science class and he couldn't avoid me much now.

"Dilton? Can I come over to your house? Or maybe meet at the lab? I was thinking we could hang out?" I asked him.

"No. I have a _friend_ visiting me right now." He told me.

"Cool. Where from?" I asked.

"Aria please. I'm trying to work." He told me. My head and shoulders dropped as I looked around in sadness. Maybe he didn't like me anymore?

*End of the school day*

I caught up to Dilton just as he was leaving.

"Dilton! Wait!" I called out to him as he stopped and looked at me. I caught up to him and smiled.

"I was wondering if you wanted to work on next week's science project together? Or maybe I could assist you with another project of yours?" I asked him.

"I think I'll just go home alone." He said in a solid tone as he began walking away.

"Oh. Okay. Maybe tomorrow?" I asked as I walked next to him.

"No. Maybe you shouldn't be around me." He said. I felt a pang in my chest.

"Dilton what's wrong? Please talk to me. Please. Is someone bullying you?" I asked him as I grabbed his hand.

"Aria. Please stop. My friend wants me home and I don't want you near him." He said. I looked at him shocked.

"Is he bullying you? Threatening you? Dilton I want to help. Please let me." I begged him.

"I haven't spent time with you in a long while and I miss it. Please." I continued.

"Aria please stay away." He looked at me with sad eyes but a strong voice.

"I want to help. Let me talk to him." I said in a demanding way.

"Just go away." He said as he pushed me and ran home.

"Dilton!" I yelled but he ignored me. I ended up going home and doing the same thing. Aunt Mary and Uncle Fred were a little worried and I knew that. I heard another knock on my door.

"Come in." I said in a monotone voice.

"Aria what's wrong?" I heard my door open and Archie ask me. I just sighed. I felt him sit on my bed as I got up and looked at him.

"Archie. I think Dilton's mad at me." I told him.

"What? Why would you think that?" Archie asked with a small bit of humor in his voice. I looked at him.

"He keeps pushing me away and I'm not sure why. I know I haven't spent much time with him and always pick him for a science partner. Maybe that's why. Maybe he thinks I'm like everybody else and just using him." I sighed as I laid back down.

"I'm sure he doesn't think that." Archie comforted me.

"He says he has a friend over at his house but I think he's bullying Dilton into not having friends." I told him. I didn't see Archie's face grow into suspicion.

"Well it's almost Saturday. Maybe you two can go to the museum together." He told me as I sighed again.

"I don't think he wants to." I said.

"How about I call him and ask?" He told me. I looked at him.

"If you want." I said as I laid back down.

*That night Dilton's POV*

I was talking with Vlad about how I didn't know anyone but he knew I was lying. He had made a device while I was gone to control my robots with a ring he wore.

"You're lying Dilton. I know you're still friends with Archie Andrews. I might not like him but he could work." He told me.

"No. You won't hurt anyone else." I told him. I got laughed at.

"You want me to yourself now? I suppose that wouldn't be so bad. That Andrews kid isn't that smart anyways." He said as then the phone rang.

"Answer the phone." He ordered me. I did as I was told.

"Hello Doiley residence." I answered.

"Dilton it's Archie." I heard Archie on the other line. Uh oh. I knew Vlad could hear this.

"What is it?" I asked him.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go to the museum with Aria on Saturday. She's starting to think that you don't like her anymore." He told me. I couldn't let Vlad find out about her.

"So what? Maybe I don't want to spend time with her." I told him.

"Dilton?" I heard him question in shock.

"Archie I have to go. Don't bother me anymore." I told him. I heard him calling me and try to tell me not to hang up but I already did.

"Who's Aria?" I heard Vlad say.

"She's no one." I told him.

"Doesn't sound like no one." I heard him say.

"Well she is." I told him. I couldn't get her or anyone involved.

"I didn't see her in the yearbook. Is she new?" I heard him ask me.

"She's no one. She's not worth it." I told him as he dropped it.

*Vlad's POV*

I let Dilton sleep as I thought about it. If he says she's no one then she might be someone important. I decided to take the phone and use it to dial back that Archie kid's number. It was 10 at night but I didn't care. I disguised my voice as Dilton's just when the phone picked up.

"Hello?" I heard a sleepy voice pick up.

"Archie?" I questioned.

"Dilton? It's 10 at night." He questioned me sleepily.

"I wanted to apologize about my rudeness earlier." I told him as I tried not to gag.

"It's fine." He muttered.

"Listen. I was wondering if I could talk with Aria tonight." I told him.

"Well she's in her room right now but I can see if she's awake still." He said. So they live together? I don't remember Archie having a sister. Maybe a cousin?

"Mm. Hello?" I heard a sleepy female voice answer.

"Aria?" I questioned just to make sure.

"Mm. Hey Dilton." I heard her respond. Her voice was soft and gentle. I liked it.

"Hey. Listen I'm sorry for being rude towards you." I told her. I didn't feel like gagging as much this time.

"Dilton." She said as she sighed.

"Listen. I don't know what your friend is doing or saying to you but I'm here for you. If he's bullying you or anything like that then you can talk to me. We're best friends. I don't want to loose that friendship over an old friend hurting or scarring you." She told me. So her and Dilton are best friends? And he didn't want me to know. Hm. Interesting.

"Dilton?" I heard her ask.

"I'm still here. He's not a bad guy. He just wanted me as his only friend. I've been his only friend until he went away. I'd like for you to meet him." I told her. This was perfect.

"Really?" She asked me.

"Sure. I might still act differently towards you. Don't take offense to it. I won't mention anything about this at school either because I only want you to know and meet him." I told her.

"Um. Okay. If that's more comfortable for you." She said as I smiled. This was too easy.

"Okay. I'll see how things go tomorrow before anything is set on meeting him." I told her.

"Whatever you want Dilton. I'll see you in class tomorrow." She told me.

"I'll see you soon." I told her as I hung up the phone. I chuckled. A female that Dilton likes? This would be interesting. When morning came around I hid in Dilton's bag and went with him to school. I was going to hide in his locker until he got me so I can see this Aria girl for myself.

*Morning Aria's POV*

I was feeling much better this morning.

"Good morning!" I said in a bright and cheery voice.

"Good morning Aria. You seem better." Uncle Fred pointed out.

"That's because Dilton called for her last night." Archie pointed out as I blushed a light pink and lightly smacked him.

"So that's who called last night." Uncle Fred said in a typical adult tone.

"He called to apologize to me about the way he's been acting and all. He has a friend from out of town staying with him and I guess that friend doesn't like Dilton having friends. I guess my reassurance got him to want his friend to meet me. Only me for now I guess. Maybe then I can see what's going on." I said while I was grabbing scrambled eggs and sausage on a plate and brought them to the table so I could eat with them.

"That's wonderful dear. I'm glad your a good enough friend to help." Aunt Mary told me.

"Thank Archie for calling him to try and make plans." I said.

"Well he didn't seem to found of it but I'm glad he had a change of heart." He said while we ate breakfast. Soon we finished eating and I grabbed my stuff and headed outside to meet Archie and go to school. He was getting his car back this weekend so I was happy. I was socializing with everyone and before I knew it science class rolled around.

*He said not to mention any of this during school hours. I guess I won't.* I thought to myself.

"How do you feel today Dilton?" I asked him.

"Fine." He said as he tried to ignore me. I remember him saying not to take offense to it so I tried not to.

"Careful." I told him as I stopped him from spilling something.

"Sorry. Thanks." He said.

"No problem." I told him with a smile. He smiled lightly before he shook he quickly frowned and went back to work. I took that as a sign. School flew by as I decided to meet him at his locker.

"Hey Dilton." I greeted as he came up.

"Please don't get mad but I heard that tomorrow we won't have school because of a teacher conference. So I was wondering if we could talk a little bit before you go home. I'm sure your friend won't mind being a bit late." I told him with a smile. Dilton just sighed as he began to unlock his locker.

"I'm not sure. But I do need to talk to yo-AH!" He started talking but he opened his locker and something scarred him. I looked and saw an adorable looking ventriloquist dummy in his locker. It seemed to be looking right at us with it's green eyes.

"Aw he's cute. I didn't know you had a Ventriloquist dummy. Do you practice?" I asked him before he quickly grabbed it and put it in his bag.

"I don't. I gotta go." He said as he suddenly slammed his locker closed and bolted. Did I embarrass him? Was I not supposed to see it?

*Oh great. Progress lost.* I thought as I sighed and decided to meet Archie and head home.

*Dilton's POV*

I ran home as fast as I could. Once I got there I went to my room, saw a note that my parents would be gone from now until Monday, and threw Vlad out of my bag and onto the bed.

"What were doing in my locker?" I screamed. Soon he sat up and looked at me.

"I wanted to meet Aria. She's even more lovely than I thought. Is that why you didn't tell me about her? How you two are _best friends?"_ he asked me.

"How would you know?" I asked him in slight worry and fear. Suddenly my robots grabbed me and brought me to my chair and tied me to it.

"Because I talked to her last night when you were asleep. I disguised my voice as yours to talk to Archie about her. I had no idea that he had a cousin. She was worried about you. Worried that your friend was bullying you. Ha! I told her she would meet me and she did! And now do you know what?" he asked me as he jumped on my lap and covered my mouth with tape.

"I've decided I don't want her as a friend. I want her as a bride instead!" He told me and then laughed. I was wide eyed and shocked. I had put some of my personality into him and now he likes her like me. Only he's going above and beyond. I was trying to escape to stop him as he grabbed the phone and hit dial. No!

*Third POV*

Dilton was struggling to escape as Vlad used the phone book to dial Archie's number. It rang twice before the line picked up.

"Hello Andrews residence Aria speaking." Aria had picked up the line. Vlad disguised his voice to Dilton's again.

"Hello Aria." he said to her while the real Dilton was struggling to escape. Aria smiled over the phone that Dilton called her.

"Hi Dilton. Listen I'm sorry for seeing the puppet in your locker. I'm sure your mad at me or embarrassed for seeing it." She told him in hopes to make him feel better.

"It's no problem. Actually I was glad you saw him. My friend put him in my locker I guess. Since he did that then that means he does want to meet you." Vlad said with a gleam in his doll eyes.

"Really?" She asked him.

"Oh yes. In fact he told me he saw you and is looking forward to meeting you. Maybe tonight since we don't have school tomorrow?" Vlad asked her as Aria thought about it. To her this was starting to sound creepy. She didn't want second thoughts but something was off with him.

"I can't tonight. I've got homework to finish. I can show up in the morning though." She told him in hopes it would work. She was going to have Archie secretly go with her in case something happened. Vlad was scowling on the inside at first but then smiled. He would be better prepared then.

"Yeah. Actually Vlad just whispered in my ear and said tomorrow would be better. He said he's nervous to talk to a lovely girl and is glad to make it tomorrow. I guess he wants to practice talking. He's never talked to a girl before." He said to try and calm her nervousness he heard. Aria smiled at how shy and awkward he sounded. Kinda like Dilton could be. Maybe she was wrong about the bullying and maybe Dilton was just more concerned over his friend.

"That's fine. If you two are more comfortable that way then what time?" She asked as happiness swelled inside her. She was looking forward to spending time with Dilton again. Vlad was happy to hear this while Dilton, who was hearing this, struggled even more to try and break free and warn her.

"How does 8 sound?" He asked her. Aria was a little nerved that it would be that early but if it was to spend time with Dilton then she wouldn't complain.

"Of course! Archie's car isn't fixed yet so I'll be skating there. Is that fine?" She asked him. Vlad was happy to hear that so no one else would linger around.

"As long as you arrive then I'll be happy. So would Vlad." He said as he tried to make it sound pleasant.

"Great." Aria said with a smile.

"Any chance I could say hi to him over the phone?" She suddenly asked. Vlad was shocked about that.

"Um. Hold on." He told her as he thought about it.

"If he's to shy then that's fine." She said in an apologetic way. To Vlad she was angelic.

"Hello?" Vlad asked in his normal voice. He didn't like it sounded creepy for her but he could care less.

"Oh hello. You obviously know this is Aria. I'm looking forward to meeting your acquaintance tomorrow." Aria said with a small shock on her face. He sounded creepy but she knew not to judge to quickly.

"I'm not so shy over the phone. It's just face to face I am. I am looking forward to fully meeting as well." Vlad said to her. She sounded smart and he liked that.

"Tell me something though. Are you related to Archie Andrews?" Vlad asked out of curiosity.

"Yes. He's my cousin. I'm sure Dilton probably mentioned that and mentioned how I'm living with him until next year." She said as she figured he didn't believe Dilton about the cousin thing. Everybody asked about that in shock.

"Yes he did. But I didn't believe him after seeing you. You look nothing like him except the orange hair and freckles." He told her. He remembered seeing Archie in the year book and wasn't surprised that he didn't change much but compared to Aria they were different.

"Well the red hair _is_ hereditary from both of our fathers, who are brothers, are Scottish. The fact we both turned out with red hair and freckles was incredible." She said as she realized she was rambling. Vlad, however, was now thoroughly impressed with how smart she was.

"I'm sorry. I'm rambling again." She apologized.

"Quite alright. Actually I love smart girls. Not many around you see. I heard your in science class with Dilton. Are you smart like him?" He asked her out of curiosity.

"Well I'm getting A's in all my classes and, thanks to Dilton, an A in the chemistry part of science. I tend to miscalculate every so often and I tend to help Dilton with his inventions." She confessed.

"Wow. So your not paired up with him to use him at all?" He asked her as he grew curious now. Dilton obviously had a crush on her but did she to him as well?

"Oh goodness no. I could never take advantage of Dilton like that. I pair up with him so 1. Nobody uses him for an easy A. 2. Because he's my best friend and 3. So this guy in my class won't pair up with me to flirt with me. Dilton knows that. At least I hope he does." She confessed as she had no idea that a tied up Dilton heard all of this and was now desperate to escape. He needed to warn her but there was no sign of escape it seemed.

"That's very nice of you. Well I can't wait to see you tomorrow. I have something special for you." He told her. He was telling the truth about that. Aria was in surprise about a gift for her from him.

"No no no. You don't have to-" She started but he cut her off.

"It's alright. I insist on giving it to you. I'd rather you have this than anyone else." He said with evil intentions on his mind.

"If your sure." She mumbled. She didn't want to be given anything.

"I'm sure. When you get here just come on inside." He told her.

"I need the address." She said to him.

"I've never been there before." She confessed. To Vlad this was perfect.

"Of course. I had no idea you've never been here before." He replied to her. Soon he gave her the address and bid her farewell as he hung up.

"Ha! She's a little more trusting than I thought. This'll be perfect." He said as he went to the desk and pulled out another ring.

"I'll make a few adjustments with this and I'll go get her dress. After all, A bride should look lovely on her wedding day." Vlad said as he laughed maniacally before leaving. He soon left the house when it was dark and found a store that sold wedding dresses. He broke in and rummaged through the whole store until he found the perfect dress. It was perfect he thought. It was white ans strapless with sparkles that was slim and went to her knees with gems around it before it sheered out on the bottom. A mermaid gown he thought it was called. He found white sleeved gloves that showed the fingers and had a loop to put through her middle finger(think of bloom's gloves from her fairy in form from Winx Club but in white.) and a gem studded headband with a veil on it. He wanted her to look like a perfect bride after all. He soon found a gem off another dress and took it before he left. He got back and set up the marionette strings for her and adjusted the ring to he could use it to control her. Then he glued the gem onto the ring to make it look like a perfect wedding ring. Everything was ready for her when she came. He looked at Dilton and laughed.

"Imagine. The girl of your dreams will soon be mine." He taunted Dilton before waiting until morning. Aria during all of this had no idea of the horror waiting for her. She had told Archie about this and he said he would pick her up later. Something in Archie's mind was going off. Where had he heard the name Vlad before? This was going to bug him all night. Aria had gotten ready for bed and set her alarm. She couldn't wait to see Dilton. She was smiling in her sleep all night.

*Morning Aria's POV*

I had woken up early and got ready for my day. I ate a super quick breakfast before leaving my family a note and skated off , with headphones on, straight to Dilton's. I looked at the address I wrote down and remembered where the street was. I then proceeded to find the house number. I found it and was happy to see the house before me. It was a two story light blue house. I went up and knocked on the door.

"Dilton? It's Aria." I said as the door suddenly opened. My gut told me to run but I didn't listen as I entered.

"Dilton?" I called out as I put my headphones and skates in my bag.

"We're up stairs. The door at the end of the hall to the left." I heard Dilton say. I smiled and followed the instructions. I got close.

"I'm happy to spend some time with you again Dilton. I hope your friend Vlad likes me too." I said as I then walked into the room only to gasp at the sight. Dilton was tied to the chair with duct tape on his mouth and his puppet on the bed looking at him.

"Dilton!" I screamed as I ran over to him. Dilton was struggling as I went to help him.

"Hold on. I'll get you out." I said as I went to untie him.

"No point in that." I heard a voice say.

"Vlad?" I questioned as I looked around. I remembered that voice over the phone. I didn't see anyone except the puppet.

"Right here." I heard the puppet say.

"Holy crackers! A talking puppet!" I freaked. Suddenly I felt something grab me. I looked and saw one of Dilton's robots as a few more came at me. I shrieked and started fighting them off me.

"No point in fighting. I always get what I want." I heard the puppet say.

"Who are you! Why did you do this?" I screamed as I was brought down to the ground. I struggled some more.

"You know who I am. We talked on the phone. I'm Vlad. I changed my voice to Dilton's last night and the night before. And why am I doing this? I'll tell you later. Right now we need to get you ready." He told me as he got up and walked over to me.

"Ready?" I questioned as he then appeared on top of me.

"Of course. I told you I had something special for you." He told me just as I felt myself get knocked unconscious.

*Archie's POV*

It was now close to noon and Aria hasn't called me yet. I was trying to remember who Vlad was. I looked in the old yearbooks and didn't see a Vlad anywhere. Maybe Jughead would know. He lived close to Dilton so maybe he could check on them. I decided to call him right away.

"Hello?" I heard Jughead answer.

"Hey Jughead. Can you go over to Dilton's and check on Aria for me?" I asked him.

"Sure but why?" He asked me.

"They're not picking up the phone and I'm a little worried. Aria said Dilton had an old friend visiting him." I told him.

"Well who is it?" Jughead asked.

"That's the thing. She said his name was Vlad. I know I've heard the name before but I can't seem to remember." I confessed to him.

"Wait? Did you say Vlad?" Jughead asked me in a small panic.

"Yeah. Why?" I asked. I had a bad feeling about this.

"Dude. Vlad was the name of Dilton's dummy. Remember? He turned it into a robot and it started doing weird things. Then one day it disappeared." Jughead told me. Now I remember. Things would end up missing or destroyed and Dilton was to blame. Later it was found out that it was the dummy Vlad. It was so long ago though.

"She said she talked to him last night. Maybe that's why Dilton was acting strange. Maybe Vlad got turned back on and now somethings happened to them." I panicked now.

"I'll go check on them. Arch you better hurry." I heard Jughead say as he then hung up. I grabbed my coat and started running to Dilton's house. I hope I'm not to late.

*Aria's POV*

"Wakey wakey." I heard someone say as I slowly started to wake up. I opened my eyes and looked around as I remembered what happened.

"Dilton!" I screamed and went to go to him but found myself stuck. That's when I noticed the strings holding me like a marionette. I also noticed that I was in a wedding gown and had a veil over me.

"What the frog?" I said as I tried to wiggle free.

"You won't get out until I say so." I heard Vlad say as I looked at him.

"Do you like my present? I got it just for you." He asked me as he then told me it was for me. I'm presuming the dress and veil.

"Why am I dressed like this?" I asked him with a glare.

"Well you have to dress like that for our wedding." He said as he hopped off the bed and started walking to another area.

"WEDDING?!" I shouted the question that could also be a statement.

"Yes. You see I used to be Dilton's best friend until they shut me off and left me to rot in the basement." He said as he went to a stand and started bringing it over.

"I was a trouble maker they said. So what if I was? Anyways a couple days ago dear old Dilton found me and decided to take me apart." He continued talking as the stand was then brought in front of me.

"Let me guess. He hit a wire and you sparked to life and want revenge?" I questioned.

"Yes I was sparked to life. I however, to show how good of a friend I was, decided to give him a chance to find me a new friend." He said as he went to grab something from a drawer.

"And he wouldn't. That's why he pushed us away." I concluded out loud.

"You are smart. I like that. When your cousin called him I had almost been willing to have him as my friend. Until he mentioned you. I then grew curious and called that night in Dilton's voice. I hadn't seen you in the yearbooks so I figured you were new. I told you all that over the phone. So I decided to hide in Dilton's locker in hopes of seeing you and I did. I liked you. You are lovely I wasn't lying about that. I liked how you thought I was cute to." He said as he pulled something out of the drawer and came back over to the stand and climbed up on it.

"I decided I liked you so much that I wanted you over here. Instead of making you my friend I want you as my bride." He said as he pulled out a ring and showed it to me. It looked electronic and looked like the one I see on him except this one had a gem on it.

"So I'm going to by using this ring." He said to me. I looked over at Dilton and noticed Jughead by the door. What luck. I couldn't let Vlad see him though. I had to distract him.

"So you had Dilton there tied up and changed your voice to lure me here? I'll admit that's clever." I said as I looked at Vlad.

"I'm glad your impressed. Do you know how this ring will control you then?" He asked me as I saw Jughead sneaking to Dilton. None of the robots were near him nor paying attention. Good.

"When you activate it you'll use your ring to control me. It'll use the electromagnets in my body to help power it and to control me better." I concluded while I looked at him.

"You really are smart. As I said I love girls who are smart. But do you know why I like you?" He asked me as I shook my head no. That I was curious about.

"Well it's because Dilton likes you. When he had 1st brought me to life He put some of his personality into me so we could be friends. I was happy but I didn't like anyone else. I broke a few things and stole a couple things as well to get him in trouble and to be home schooled." He was saying as Jughead was trying to untie Dilton.

"But it didn't work. Was it because of his parents?" I asked him.

"Yes and a boy named Jughead Jones. That brat saw me walking around and tattled." He said as I smiled.

"So now your roaming around. I'm guessing you stole this as well?" I asked as I motioned to my gown.

"Yes. Since Dilton seemed to like you a lot I had to know why and now I do. Your lovely, smart, and your voice is wonderful. I'd rather you be near me and do what I want then him." He said as he motioned to Dilton.

"So your going to basically make me a servant?" I asked him.

"Think of it as a being a wife." He told me as I glared at him. Just before Dilton was completely untied One of the robots spotted him and made an alarm sound. Vlad turned and saw the scene and grew angry.

"Get him!" He ordered.

"No!" I shouted as I tried to wiggle free. Soon Jughead was caught and tied up just like Dilton. Vlad jumped off the platform and went up to Jughead.

"Ah Jughead Jones. Remember me?" Vlad asked him in a taunting way.

"You won't get away with this!" He shouted.

"Ha! Yes I will." Vlad said as he looked at me.

"You saw him and kept me busy didn't you?" He asked me as I looked away from him.

"I should punish you for that but I'm a forgiving man." He said as he jumped back onto the stand.

"Leave her alone!" I heard Jughead say before some muffles. I looked and saw his mouth was now taped shut.

"Oh ho ho. This is rich. It seems that Dilton and I are not the only ones." I heard Vlad say as I looked at him.

"What do you mean?" I asked him an a demanding voice.

"I had mentioned that Dilton and I carry most of the same interests. Well I'm making you my bride for a reason dear sweet Aria. It's because Dilton has a crush on you." He said as I grew shocked and started blushing.

"W-what?" I questioned.

"Oh yes. And it seems that, after hearing him yell at me to leave you alone, that Jughead here has a crush on you as well." He added as I went redder. I looked at both of them for confirmation as they looked away from me with blushes. It was true.

"And by how red your face is you like both of them the same way don't you?" He asked as they now looked at me and I looked away.

"How precious. I can use those feelings to fully make you mine then." He said as he pulled out the ring and grabbed my left hand.

"No! Never! Let me go!" I shouted as I tried to get free.

"No one can help you. Your my bride now." Vlad said as he laughed.

"Not if I have anything to say about it." We heard a voice. I looked up and saw Archie as he then ran at Vlad.

"Archie!" I shouted as Vlad scowled.

"Attack!" He shouted as the robots went after him. Archie kicked them away and untied Jughead quickly. I wiggled some more as Vlad's grip tightened on me.

"I'll make you mine now! No more waiting!" He shouted as he went to put the ring on me. That's when we heard a snap. My right hand was free. I smacked Vlad away from me. He fell and the ring fell somewhere too.

"No!" He shouted as he started looking for the ring. I started to undo myself Just as Archie and Jughead smashed the other robots. Now Jughead was untying Dilton while Archie undid me.

"Archie. You came." I said as I hugged him.

"I asked Jughead about Vlad and he told me. Glad Jughead lives close to here." He said and I smiled.

"No! She's mine!" We heard Vlad yell as he jumped on Archie and attacked.

"Archie!" The three of us yelled before Dilton grabbed something. I saw what it was, a small hand gun looking device, and grabbed at Vlad.

"Let him go!" I shouted as Archie and I struggled to get him to let go.

"I'll have you yet!" He shouted as he suddenly let him go and clutched my neck.

"Hold on!" I heard Dilton say as he fired the gun and then Vlad stopped moving. I got him to let go and flung him away from me.

"What did you do?" I asked Dilton.

"It's an electronic stun gun. Basically an emergency turn off switch. I had just started making it." Dilton said as he adjusted his glasses.

"Are you alright though? I didn't want you involved for this reason." Dilton asked me as he came over to me.

"Dilton you should've told me from the beginning before it spiralled out of control like this. Or told someone." I told him as Dilton sighed.

"I know." He said.

"Why don't I get out of this dress so we can return it, bury the dummy somewhere and call it a day?" I asked them as all three agreed. As I was going to my clothes I thought about it.

"Dilton. Jughead." I said as I turned to them and they looked at me.

"I know now that you two have crushes on me. And now you both know I accept both of your feelings and give the same to you. But lets try not to make this weird." I said with a smile as I grabbed my clothes and went into another room, not caring which one, and changed. We did just that. Returned the dress and called it a day. But not before burying the dummy in the middle of the woods somewhere where no one will find it. Archie and I got started on our weird mystery as soon as we got home.

"Today was a rough one readers. Would you believe I almost became a _bride_ to Dilton's robotic ventriloquist dummy? I don't and it almost happened. ~Aria. Aria told me something was different with Dilton because of a _friend,_ that turned out to be Vlad the dummy, and I should've listened instead of nearly laughing about it. It just goes to show you that someone in your life can change you. Whether it's to protect you or hurt you. ~Archie. Dilton thought he was protecting me by not telling me. Unfortunately the situation got worse to the point where I was almost hurt. I guess this goes to show that if you have a problem you should tell someone. No matter how small. Because it might grow bigger. It also goes to show that even with trouble comes great friends to help you. ~Aria….Even in a little town called Riverdale! ~Archie and Aria." We ended the article just as I got a call.

"Hello Andrews residence." I answered.

"Aria. It's Dilton." I heard on the other end.

"Hi." I said to him.

"Listen. Archie asked me if I could take you to the museum tomorrow and I want to. Can we go together?" He asked me as I smiled.

"Sure. We can go." I said to him.

"Great. How does noon sound?" He asked and I agreed to it. We said goodnight as I then decided to go to bed.


	20. Chapter 19

Chapter 19: Supreme Girl Vs. Doctor Arachnid!

*After School Aria's POV*

Alright. We're almost in May! Literally! 3 more days left of April! We had a few rain storms and a few false flood warnings. Glad we didn't flood. Anyways Jughead, Archie, Veronica and I were walking to the bank to go to the ATM machine.

"Why are we going here first instead of Pop's?" Veronica asked in an annoyed tone as I rolled my eyes. Jughead sighed.

"Pop Tate cut me off until I pay off my hamburger tab." He said as rounded the corner and neared the machine. We stooped by it and Jughead pulled out a bank card, access accounts only not for buying things like a debit or credit card, and continued talking.

"I'll have to dip into my savings to pay it off." He told us. Then he put the card into the machine and got ready to punch in the number but soon saw Veronica staring over his shoulder in a curious way.

"Veronica. A little privacy please." Jughead said rudely to her. He had every right to be rude to her.

"Veronica!" I scolded as I grabbed her and yanked her away from Jughead.

"That's spying! That's not right at all! You're peering into his privacy!" I scolded her.

"Aw don't mind me." She said as she started to go back over to him. Soon she was over his shoulder again.

"Go right ahead." She said as I yanked her away again.

"Huh?" She said as I hit a button to pull Jughead's card out, grabbed it, grabbed his wrist and started heading inside while speaking.

"Archie! Talk to her! Come on Jughead. Let's get you inside to do this privately." I told him as we then got inside and handed him his card back.

"Sorry Jughead but Veronica irks me. I know you want privacy so I'll be outside." I said as I started to head out but then felt a hand on my wrist.

"You don't have to leave. I don't trust _Veronica_ but I trust you." He told me while yanking me back in line and put an arm around me. I blushed and looked back outside.

"But Jughead I'm not-" I started to say but he cut me off.

"Alright. Your not comfortable with this. I'll meet you outside." He said as I smiled at him. I hugged him gently before I walked out the door. Just as I got off the steps to see Archie, alone, Someone dressed in black ran into me and made me stumble.

"Hey! Careful!" I shouted as he ran into Archie and made him do the same thing.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" He shouted as I got up to him.

"You okay?" I asked him.

"Yeah. You?" He replied before asking.

"Yeah." I replied back. All of I sudden I heard Archie say huh in a questioning tone while I look up at where he's looking and gasp. A super hero? She was wearing a red jump suit with blue and a blue cape and a blue masked bandanna on her. She also had orange hair like Archie and I did.

"A flying girl!" Archie pointed out the obvious.

"A Super Hero!" I shouted in glee.

"You can run Dr. Arachnid but you can't hide!" She suddenly shouted in a taunting voice. The man in black, Dr. Arachnid, turned and looked at her.

"Then perhaps I should fight!" He shouted as he the reached for his chest. A button? That's when his cape fell off him to reveal 6 mechanical arms.

"Holy Spiders!" I said to Archie as we then figured out why he was named that. She suddenly swooped down in front of us and, as she did, Dr. Arachnid shot a green beam from one of his tentacles to try and hit her but she easily dodged it and the rest that flew past her, hitting the wall instead, and if that wasn't bad enough one the arms then threw a net on her to pin her to the wall. Suddenly the net electrocuted her as Dr. Arachnid made his escape from there. I wanted to chase him but I knew better. Instead I followed Archie to the hero girl as he asked her if she was alright.

"I'm fine cutie. This is just a _minor_ set back. Could you please step back for a moment?" She said to Archie, as I giggled at the cutie part, and we obeyed her and stepped back. Thats when she ran and broke through the net and stopped to stretch a second before looking around. No sign of Dr. Arachnid.

"Who was that guy?" Archie asked her as we approached her.

"That was Dr. Arachnid." She said before I cut her off.

"Let me guess. An evil criminal mastermind?" I asked her.

"Your pretty smart. Yes but from the 12th dimension." She added in as I grew shocked.

"So there's **twelve** different dimensions?" I asked her as she nodded.

"I won't even ask which number we are. I know not the 12th one." I said as she smiled.

"Anyways I tracked him here through 7 different states. And of course 11 different dimensions." She told us.

"Wow. Your lucky to travel so often." I told her. I've always wanted to travel but never really could. NYC and Riverdale are the only places I've ever gone to.

"But what's he doing in Riverdale?" Archie asked.

"Arch. She just said he was an evil mastermind. He was most likely hiding here until he found out she was here and decided to do some criminal activity. He's most likely hatching up a plan to get rid of her, being a super hero, and somehow take over all 12 dimensions or at least figure out her weakness." I rambled as the heroin looked at me in shock.

"I read a lot of comics. It's a typical hero super villain thing." I told her as she smiled and nodded.

"Your most likely right smarty. Either way it's most likely a major crime and I need to stop him." She said as she then started flying off.

"What's your name?" Archie suddenly called out.

"Supreme Girl. Maybe I'll see you around cutie. You too smarty." She called as she flew off. Cool.

"She likes you. Cutie." I elbowed his side while teasing him.

"Whatever you say smarty." He teased back. Jughead soon returned and we tried to tell him what happened but it was hard to believe. Oh well. On to Pop's. Having no idea of the eyes that watched us.

*Dr. Arachnid's POV*

I had only ran around a corner and hid in the shadows of an alleyway when I heard the two orange haired teens talking with Supreme Girl after she escaped my net trap. I heard the female make a statement to the boy about why I was here. She was actually right. She was a smart girl. Maybe I could use that later on. Never the less once she flew off I made it a goal to keep an eye on those two. Supreme girl likes them and thinks the boy is cute. The girl was smart and might come in handy. I saw a teen boy show up as they explained this to him. He had a hard time buying it. Good. When they were leaving the new boy that showed up put his arm around the girl's shoulder and she blushed. Interesting. I decided then to flee to my hide out and think of a plan.

*Later that night Aria's POV*

After eating at Pop's Archie and I went home. He said he wanted to talk to me about the situation with Dilton and Jughead. I had been avoiding it for a while so I _knew_ it was only a matter of time. Also found out it was Dilton who left the Valentine in Archie's car and Jughead was the one who left the other one on the steps. That personally shocked me, because both were poetic, but I should've seen the clues. Dilton with the 'Mysterious as the universe' line and Jughead mentioning food in his. Anyways. It was 7pm and Aunt Mary and Uncle Fred went on another business trip. Only a week this time. Anyways Archie and I were having a talk.

"I guess I can't keep avoiding it huh?" I asked him.

"Would you rather have Uncle Fred-" He started before I cut him off.

"No!" I nearly shouted out of embarrassment. Archie sighed.

"Do you know how difficult this will get?" Archie asked me.

"You do it. If it's okay for you then why not me?" I teasingly asked him.

"Aria." He started in a strict tone.

"Relax Archie. I'm not _dating_ both of them. I'm not you." I told him as I teased him with the last sentence.

"Then what do you plan on doing?" He asked me as I shrugged before thinking about it.

"Well. I guess I just stay friends with them for now. I don't want to struggle like you do. I'm only 15 after all. I'll have time to figure this all out soon. For now I just want to be friends with them and finish school. Once I start getting ready for college is when I'll fully figure all of this out." I told him after I had a minute to think it over. It's true. I am young and want to get through high school. I also never been on a date before, let alone my first kiss, so this would be new to me. I don't want to treat them differently nor them treat me differently. I don't want fights starting between them either like with Betty and Veronica or Reggie with Archie. Archie just sighed.

"It will be difficult no matter what. If word gets out then a nasty rumor could spread. Also, no matter what, one or both will get hurt or even you if they decide to move on. What then?" Archie asked me as I shook my head.

"You think I know? I'm not smart enough to predict the future Archie. I've never even kissed a guy before alright? All I know is that no matter what happens I want to keep being friends no matter what the results may be." I said as I raised my hands in a 'I give up' motion and rambled slightly loud about this.

"Wait? Never kissed a guy?" Archie asked in shock.

"Why is that such a shock? You know I've never been on a date or had friends or even went to parties. A kiss on the cheek is one thing but a kiss on the lips is completely different you know that." I told him as he just shook his head.

"So what if something happens before school ends?" He asked me.

"Then I go with the flow. What else can I do? I can't constantly worry about this." I told him as he shook his head again.

"Alright. But if you need advice I'm here." He told me.

"Whatever you say playa'." I said in a typical New York gangster way.

"Your one to talk." He told me as I looked at him and smiled.

"Guess we have another thing in common." I told him as I then went up to my room for the night.

*next week after school Aria's POV*

I had decided to meet up with Archie in the school newspaper/computer room. I wasn't officially part of the club but I was Archie's on and off partner for the article so I could be there. I saw that new girl, Olga I think her name was, and stood to her. She transferred here about four months ago and that was it really. She never stuck out and it was hard to actually get to know her. I tried to spend time with her after school and it only happened 3 times. How bothersome. Oh well. I came in just in time to hear about a new article opening to get the paper up.

"A new article?" I asked her.

"Yes. It needs a gossip column." She said as I immediately knew where this was heading.

"No! No no no. Gossips ruin peoples lives. It can hurt them and it's not good. Plus if you get who I think your going to get than your doing more harm than good. Why not a different column like best movies to see or a fashion column of even a cute animal of the week column? Just not gossip." I said as I rambled about the different things we could do and practically begged not to do that one but I suppose it fell upon deaf ears.

"A gossip column is just what we need. Readers will grab the paper to read and we won't get closed down. It's perfect." She said as I sighed and shook my head.

"Always the hard way." I mumbled as Olga patted my back.

"It's alright. Those where good ideas." She said in her usual quiet voice as I looked at her and smiled.

"Thanks." I mumbled back as then Veronica showed up. Yeah I was groaning now. She gossiped about everything to everyone. I didn't want to deal with that so I said good luck to Archie and Olga and left. I don't hate Veronica. I just hate her attitude, bad actions, and how she basically uses Archie sometimes. Other than that she's a nice and sweet girl. _Sometimes._ I decided to go check on Dilton and see if he needed help with anything. I was rounding a corner when I froze and hid behind it. Vinnie Wells was there. Oh boy. What now? I could hear him coming this way and I panicked. I couldn't get into another fight. Especially at school. I had done well to avoid him but now. Oh boy. I then saw a open closet and bolted inside of it. I was peeking through the key hole and waited until I saw Vinnie in sight. I held my breath in fear of him hearing me. He looked around for a little bit before he decided to walk away. I quietly sighed as I waited 3 more minutes before poking my head out and look around. When I didn't see him I bolted to the science lab. I got there and slowed my breathing as I entered.

"Dilton?" I asked quietly with a gently knock.

"Salutations Aria. What brings you down this way?" Dilton asked me as I smiled and walked up to him.

"What're you up to today boy genius?" I asked him.

"Nothing much. I just finished next week's homework." He told me as I smiled at him.

"I should get started soon." I said with a bright smile on my face.

"Anyways I came in here to see if you wanted to head to Pop's to grab a shake if you weren't busy. If you were I would've asked if you needed help." I told him as he smiled at me.

"Sure. A shake sounds good." He said as he then started cleaning up. I helped him.

"Hey. Thought I might find you here." I heard Jughead's voice as I looked his way and smiled.

"Hey Jughead. Archie should be on a date with Veronica right now." I told him as I presumed he wanted to ask me where Archie was. He did that sometimes.

"Na. I was actually looking for you." He said with a smile. I stopped cleaning the counter top and blushed.

"Me?" I asked him. I didn't notice Dilton watching us.

"Yeah. I wanted to know if you wanted to head to Pop's?" He asked me as I suddenly laughed.

"What's so funny?" He asked and I had to stop myself from laughing some more.

"Don't take it as an offense." I said between laughs before I calmed down and spoke again.

"It's just that I asked Dilton the same thing." I said as I finished cleaning up and went to the trash can to throw the paper towel away.

"Yes. She did. Maybe another time." I heard Dilton say. It sounded slightly bitter and I wasn't sure why.

"Well maybe you can reschedule?" Jughead asked Dilton as I finally realized what was happening. I looked and I swore I could see sparks fly. It was like how Betty and Veronica would start to get over Archie.

*Uh oh.* I thought as I then got between them. I needed to cool the situation down.

"Well I'm not going to ditch Dilton but since you're heading to Pop's as well maybe the three of us could go together?" I questioned in hopes it would work. Both boys calmed down and soon figured out what I was doing and why.

"But Aria." Both boys started.

"Listen to me. You know that I know that you two have a crush on me and I know that you know that I feel the same thing for both of you. But I will not stand back and let you two argue over who goes where with me and who needs to reschedule. I don't want this to be like Archie's situation. Didn't I also say I wanted to be friends for now until we can work something out? I believe I did. So please stop this fighting. I can't deal with it. Not between two guys I care for." I said as I looked at both of them. They both had pink cheeks and looked embarrassed as they looked in the opposite direction while rubbing the back of their heads.

"We're sorry Aria." I heard Jughead say.

"Indeed. These feelings are something that we are, also, trying to get used to." Dilton added in.

"I'm trying to get used to them as well. I've never had this happen. I've never started falling in love with a guy, let alone two, who were actually falling in love with me back. I also know jealousy is normal but please don't do this. At least when I'm around." I said to them as they both nodded.

"Alright." I said as I sighed.

"So? The three of us at Pop's then?" I asked as they perked up and nodded. We left for Pop's and had no idea that a certain raven haired gossip girl was overhearing this from the moment Jughead entered the room.

*Next day Aria's POV*

It was Homeroom and we heard the announcements start.

"Greetings one and all." I heard Veronica's voice as I groaned and smacked my head on my desk. I hated this day already. She started talking about her gossip column and it's sneak preview. I had a bad feeling about this.

"Here it comes." I heard Archie say with an attitude.

"Betty's father didn't get that promotion he was counting on. Looks like Betty won't be visiting the Art museums in Italy this summer after all." I heard Veronica say. I didn't even have to look to know Betty looked embarrassed.

"You didn't have to tell the _world_ Veronica." Betty practically yelled.

"And a certain teacher named Miss Grundy was seen checking out trashy romance novels from the local library." She added as I heard giggles.

"For your information class, the works of Jane Austin are **not** _trashy romance novels._ No matter _what_ the covers may look like." Miss Grundy said in a snippy tone. She was substituting for our homeroom teacher today.

"And here are two of the juiciest ones yet! The first one being guess who freshman Olga Garbuchi has a crush on?" I heard as I perked up at that. She wouldn't.

"Archie Andrews." I heard. She did.

"She's been seen dropping anonymous love letters in his locker all month." She boasted.

"Those were from you?" Archie asked as he turned and looked at her. She then ran out of the room from embarrassment. My blood boiled now.

"And the second one has to deal with his cousin Aria Andrews." I heard as I went to get up but froze in my spot and turned pale. What? Me? Not good.

"She was heard last night stopping a fight between Jughead Jones and Dilton Doiley on who should go on a date with her. She stopped it and went with both. Sounds like she has two boyfriends now. Maybe she'll have a third one? You never know with city girls." I heard her say as I was frozen I could feel eyes on me but I couldn't hear anything. My mind and heart were racing. Archie was calling out to me and waving a hand in my face before I suddenly bolted from the room. Tears in my eyes and cheeks red from the blush of embarrassment. I ran. I didn't care where. I didn't want to be here anymore. I'll make up the school work later. I ended up running past Principal Weatherbee and Veronica, crying and sobbing, as I bolted out the front doors of the school. I ran. I didn't care where. I just ran. I ended up at the park as I decided to climb up a tree, a weeping willow that rested in the secluded spot Jughead had taken me to, sit on a branch to cry. Why did she have to do that? I just rocked back and forth in the tree and cried until I tired myself out. I decided not to move and stay here as long as I could to calm down.

*Archie's POV*

After I heard Veronica mention her gossip on Aria I looked at her. She looked frozen in time. I was worried. She had one of two thing now. Run, cry and hide or beat up Veronica.

"Um Aria?" I called her name in question but she didn't move. She was breathing fast and heavy though.

"Hey Aria. You okay?" I asked her as I waved my hand in her face. That's when I saw a tear fall down and her cheeks start to go red before she suddenly bolted from her chair and ran.

"Aria!" I shouted as I ran to the door.

"Archie Andrews sit down or detention." Miss Grundy said as I sighed in anger and sat down. I was going to talk with Veronica about this. The day was going by and no one had seen Aria. She wasn't in her morning classes and she wasn't in science class. Dilton and Jughead met up with me in class and started talking to me.

"Hey Arch. Where's Aria? Is she okay?" Jughead asked me.

"I don't know. I can't find her. She wasn't in her morning classes." I said as I sighed.

"She heard the gossip and bolted in tears." I added as I looked out the window. I was worried about her.

"Maybe she's in one of the girl's bathrooms crying." Dilton pointed out.

"I could have Betty help me check." I said as I waved Betty over.

"Hey. What's up?" She asked me.

"Betty. Do you think you could get Midge and Big Ethel and Olga to find Aria and check on her? If she's in one of the bathrooms then I can't help her." I asked as she eagerly nodded.

"Yes of course. We can go during lunch period." She said just as Veronica entered. Betty was mad at her. Actually all four of us were mad at her.

"Hey Archie-kins." She said to me as I brushed her away.

"What's the matter?" She asked me.

"I'll tell you what. You made Aria cry and now she's missing. She wasn't in any of her classes this morning." I told her as she huffed.

"Not my problem." She said. Suddenly Jughead grabbed her and spun her around to face him and Dilton.

"Oh yes it is." Jughead said to her.

"Indeed. That was a private manner we were working out that didn't need to be announced. You carelessly put your actions ahead of others feelings." Dilton scolded her.

"Yeah Aria doesn't seem like it but she can be very emotional and sensitive. This really hurt her and embarrassed her. She's upset and now we have no idea where she is." Jughead pointed out.

"It's true Veronica. You need to be careful what you say or you won't have any friends." Betty said.

"Not my fault people can't handle the truth that I publish." Veronica said as I got mad.

"No. What you did was wrong. It's trash talk not truth. It's based on lies and private matters. You hurt Olga's feelings too. And Betty's. Don't you realize Aria has a habit of running away when she's upset?" I said as all four looked at me in shock.

"What?" They all said.

"When Aria gets really upset she would run off somewhere. Since everyone is in school right now I have no idea if she went home or not. I'm worried and I was hoping she wouldn't do that here. And now she has. If her parents find out about this than she won't be here next year. She'll have to go back." I said to them Betty seemed shocked, Veronica didn't seemed bothered by this and Jughead and Dilton looked scarred for her. They knew why. I shook my head as the bell rang. When lunch time started Tyler, Collins, Tyrone, Ronin, Jimmy, and Geoff had asked me if they've seen Aria and that she wasn't in class. I was really worried now. Especially when the girls came back and said they couldn't find her. It was now the end of the day and I went by Aria's locker to see if she was there. She wasn't. I opened her locker and her stuff was still there. I grabbed it just as Principal Weatherbee came up to me.

"Mister Andrews have you seen your cousin today?" He asked me.

"No. She never came back after homeroom." I explained t him as I explained everything else. He told me that she had ran past him and Veronica, sobbing, and it seemed like she was heading to the front of the school.

"She must have ran home." I mentioned.

"That's the thing Mr. Andrews. I called but no one answered." He said to me.

"Oh. Mom and Dad went on another business trip and wont be back until Friday. I'll go home and check on her." I told him.

"See that you do. If she _was_ upset about what happened I'll just give her a warning." He told me as he walked away. I was worried now. I ran to find the guys, including Dilton and Jughead, and told them she's not on school grounds. The girls, minus Veronica, helped and Midge even got Moose to help. When Reggie found out she was missing even _**he**_ offered to help. We split up to look for her. I was going to head home while the others would split up and search the town for her. I hoped she was home. By the time I reached my house I started looking around for her.

"Aria? Aria? Are you here? Please answer?" I looked and yelled and nothing. She wasn't here. Oh no. How was I going to explain this to mom and dad? I began my search for her and decided to go by Pop's to see if she was there. That's when I saw Supreme Girl stop a run away car. I then asked her for an interview and she agreed.

*Third POV*

Everyone had split up except Dilton and Jughead. They didn't know where to look first.

"Maybe she went to Pop's" Jughead thought while Dilton rolled his eyes.

"I doubt she's there. Don't think about food." Dilton scolded while Jughead glared at him.

"For once I'm not thinking about burgers. I'm thinking Aria went there to eat. But if she's sad then she'd want to be alone. Maybe the park?" Jughead had been truthful about not thinking about food. He couldn't even think of eating, no matter how hungry he was, until Aria was safe in his arms.

*Veronica must've really got to her to make her cry like that.* they both thought at the same time. Suddenly Dilton perked up.

"Aria said when she was sad or angry she would go to the park!" Dilton said as Jughead then remembered that too.

"Hey yeah! She used to climb up a tree within a cluster to hide. She must be there!" Jughead added in and agreed as both of them made a run for it to the park. They got there but saw there were a few trees around here.

"Now where?" Dilton wondered out loud. Jughead then remembered the secluded spot he took her to so she could do her art project.

*Could she be there?* He thought to himself he remembered her words. 'If I'm ever sad or want to be alone or even enjoy the peace and quiet I'll remember to come here.' He had told her that after she was finished sketching. She would go there.

"I know where she is!" Jughead practically screamed as he ran to the secret spot, Dilton on his heels, and hoped she would be there.

"What makes you so sure?" Dilton asked as they cut through some bushes and went through a tiny forest patch as they approached the spot.

"Because she told me. I took her here once and she said she would come here if she was sad, wanted to be alone, or wanted to enjoy it's peace and beauty. Plus there's a weeping willow there and it's hard to see someone up there with the vines." Jughead concluded as they reached the spot. They looked around for her and saw the tree.

"Aria?" Dilton called. Jughead went right over to the tree.

"Aria?" Jughead yelled as he then spotted her. Asleep.

*Aria's POV*

"Aria?" I heard a voice. It sounded like Dilton's.

"Aria?" I then heard a deeper voice. Jughead? I slowly opened my now puffy red eyes and remembered I was in a tree.

"Aria. There you are." I heard Jughead's voice as I looked down and saw him.

"Jughead?" I questioned. Soon Dilton came into view.

"Dilton?" I questioned as well.

"Aria. Thank goodness. We were worried about you. All of us?" I heard Dilton say.

"All of us?" I questioned him.

"Here. Come down. We'll help." Jughead offered as I nodded. I slowly climbed down and, before I knew it, both boys held me close to them and made sure I was alright.

"We were so worried." Jughead said as Dilton pulled out a water bottle from his bag.

"Here. Your most likely dehydrating from crying so much." Dilton told me as he handed me the bottle.

"Thank you." I said as I began drinking the water.

"Archie was worried. He had Betty, Midge, Big Ethel and Olga search the bathrooms and they couldn't find you. We looked all over the school too." Jughead told me as he pulled out a candy bar and gave it to me.

"Here. You need to eat." He told me as I just looked at him.

"Who else looked for me?" I asked no one in general.

"Well the both of us did followed by the girls. Archie of course did too. Then there's Collins, Tyrone, Tyler, Geoff, Jimmy, Ronin, Moose helped because of Midge, heck even _Reggie_ helped to look for you." Dilton said as I looked at him in shock.

"They-they're all looking for me?" I asked as they nodded.

"Aria we all care about you. Veronica overheard us last night and thought it was her business to tell. She had no right to and Dilton and I ripped into her about it. Even Archie did." Jughead said as my eyes started to well up. I worried all of them. All because I was upset and couldn't handle it.

"I-I'm sorry!" I nearly sniffled out as tears overcame me and I tried to hold them in.

"I'm an idiot. I still don't realize how to handle friends. I'm still selfish and hide things. And I worried everyone. I'm sorry." I said through tears and sniffles as I then felt them hug me and comfort me. Say spoke kind words to me and made me feel better. Dilton gave me his spare handkerchief to dry my eyes and stop my make up from running. They then proceeded to take me home.

"Hey there smarty." I heard a familiar female voice. I looked up and saw Supreme Girl.

"Supreme Girl? What are you doing here?" I questioned her.

"Archie told me you were missing. I decided to help the cutie out. I'm glad your friends found you. Now I want you boys to take her home. I'll let cutie know so he can let the other's know." She said with a smile. They nodded their heads. I looked at her shocked. Archie asked her for help? He was that worried?

"Your probably surprised he asked me. Well I actually ran into him after stopping a run away car. He was so excited to interview me but then he remembered you. I answered a few of his questions before I agreed to help find you. I'm just glad Jughead and Dilton found you." She said as all three of us gawked.

"You know who they are?" I barely managed to ask.

"Archie told me about the gossip and it's easy to tell that it's them. It's alright. I think Veronica said that gossip just to get attention. I'm sure whatever is happening is a good thing if your happy." She said with a smile as I perked up a little at that.

"Please let Archie know I'm alright and that I'm sorry so he can let them know I'm sorry too." I asked her to do this for me and she smiled.

"Of course. I'm sure he knows but I'll let him know anyway." She said as we smiled at her.

"Don't be upset. This'll all blower over soon. I'll see you soon smarty." She said as she then flew off to give my cousin the news. I was happy. Then my stomach growled.

"Hehe. Guess I'm hungry." I said as I started eating the candy bar.

"How about We get back to your house and order some food?" Jughead suggested as I smiled at that idea.

"Sure." I said as Dilton nodded in agreement. We made it home and Jughead went to order a few pizza's.

"How about you shower and change? Archie has your bag so don't worry about that." He said as I smiled at him.

"Alright." I said barely above a whisper. I started heading up the stairs but then I heard Jughead call my name. I looked at him, poking his head out the kitchen door, and looked at me with a smile.

"Don't wear make up again. I like you without make up. Plus if you cry it'll start running again." He told me. I was shocked that he said that but I nodded my hand in agreement before heading up to my room to grab a pair of black pajama shorts with purple stars all over and a purple tank top with a black star in the center of it and then the bathroom.

"Why am I an idiot." I mumbled as I started the shower before stripping down to nothing. Once my shower was finished I dried off, brushed my hair, left it down, and dressed in my pajamas before tossing my clothes in the hamper and headed down stairs. I got there and I saw Jughead and Dilton paying the pizza guy before bringing the stuff in.

"Oh guys. I could've helped." I said as I rushed down there and helped with the pizza.

"With what? Your wallet's in your bag remember?" Jughead reminded me as I blushed red.

"I have some upstairs." I mumbled to them.

"That's your emergency money though. Plus our treat." Jughead reminded me and told me.

"Indeed. You need cheering up. And what's better then two guys treating you to pizza and willing to watch a movie or play a game to see you smile?" Dilton added in as he then turned a bit pink. Jughead and I did too.

"If you insist." I muttered. We were eating pizza and playing poker, I had to teach them a bit but they were quick learners, and using candy like m&m's and other candies before Archie came home. He looked in and saw me looking a little better.

"Aria." I heard Archie say lightly as I looked up at him. I then turned my head away so I could avoid looking at him.

"Guys can I talk to her alone please?" Archie suddenly asked as they nodded and got up to wait in the kitchen.

"Go easy on her Arch." I heard Jughead whisper.

"She's still very sensitive right now." Dilton added in with a whisper as I heard them go into the kitchen. I heard Archie approach me.

"Aria-" He started before I clung on to him and tried not to cry.

"I'm not mad at you. Not at all. I was just worried. I know some habits are hard to break but you worried everyone. Even Mister Weatherbee grew worried when you ran past him." He said as I didn't say a word. Archie sighed.

"I already know your sorry. Tell ya what. If your not up for it then I'll let you stay home from school tomorrow. I'll let Principle Weatherbee know what's going on. Maybe then we can stop the gossip column. Plus I'll bring back your homework." He said to me.

"I'm sorry. Thank you." I managed to muster out. Archie held me close and rubbed my back.

"I know that. I'm glad Supreme girl told me. Lets see how you feel tomorrow alight?" He asked me as I nodded.

"I have to call mom and dad and let them know what happened in case Principle Weatherbee called them alright?" He asked me as I nodded and let him go. Archie knew by now that hiding in a tree was my safety net, my coping mechanism. It was the only place I could go to to make me feel better or to shelter me from harm. I was used to it. He knew that. Jughead and Dilton came back in and we resumed our game. Soon Archie joined in and I got all the candy. Archie convinced them that I would be alright and they went home. But not without each of them hugging me and, surprisingly, giving me a kiss on each cheek. I was really red when they left. Archie sent me off to bed to make sure I got some sleep.

*Morning Aria's POV*

"Archie I'm fine." I told him for the 20th time as we were now on our way to school.

"Are you sure? I can see if you can go home after talking to Principle Weatherbee." He said as I shook my head.

"I can't run from my problems. Besides, It's out in the open now about the three of us liking each other. I'm just going to have to correct them about the dating and me not being like other city girls." I told him as I sighed.

"Plus I need to let Veronica know about my feelings for the gossip column." I said in a bitter tone. Archie looked at me with a worried look.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt her. Just scare her a bit." I said with a small mischievous smile on my lips.

"Aria don't. I'll talk with her." He said to me as I sighed.

"I'll break up with her if this continues. I don't want to be with someone who hurts you." He told me as I gawked at what he said.

"What?" He asked me.

"You'd give up Veronica as a girlfriend? All because of this?" I asked her.

"Yeah? Why?" He asked me.

"Just a surprise is all." I said as I looked away from him.

"Besides, I like Betty better." I told him as he choked a bit. We soon arrived at school and I immediately went into the office to talk with Principle Weatherbee about the column. He didn't like that Veronica and the gossip was why I ran out of school, he also didn't like my actions about it but he forgave it, but the problem was the column was too popular so he called Veronica in and told her not to make them so hurtful and personal. She said she understood but I felt like she didn't. I read this mornings column and besides it saying that I'm a typical run away, which she got the facts wrong again, what angered me more was the fact that she, intentionally, ran the Supreme Girl story behind Archie's back. I went up to Archie.

"Um Arch. You might want to talk to Veronica and now." I told him as I continued reading.

"Why?" He asked as I pointed to the column.

"She wrote about you-" He started but I stopped him.

"I don't care about that. I meant this." I pointed to the Supreme Girl story. He read it and went slightly red.

"What?!" He yelled out as he then stormed off.

*I'd hate to be Veronica right now.* I thought to myself. Midge and Moose suddenly approached me.

"Hey Aria. I'm glad your alright." Moose said as he hugged me suddenly.

*I forgot he was a hugger.* I thought.

"Thanks Moose." I told him as he let me go. Midge then hugged me.

"I can't believe Veronica made you that upset. Her gossips tend to be lies." She said as I shook my head.

"The only thing she got wrong was I'm not like other city girls and I wasn't dating Dilton and Jughead. The feeling are true but I don't think I could date them both." I said as she was shocked at first but understood. Suddenly I felt another hug.

"Wa!" I shouted.

"I'm so glad you ended up safe Aria." I heard BE say to me.

"Hey BE." I said to her and quickly explained the Jughead and Dilton thing of liking but not dating.

"No hard feelings or rivalry?" I asked her.

"Not at all." She said as I smiled at that. I knew she loves Jughead but we won't let it ruin our friendship at all. Good thing too. School was a drag. People kept staring at me and some even gave a few whispers but my friends were trying to help settle things. Jughead and Dilton comforted me as much as they could and I was grateful for that. Now it was after school and I was starting to leave when I ran into Supreme Girl.

"Looking for Veronica?" I asked her.

"Where is she?" She asked in a mad tone.

"I'll take you to her." I said with a smile on my face. I _had_ to see this! I guided her to the computer room.

"In there." I whispered just as she opened it.

"Where is she? Where is Veronica lodge?" I heard her ask in a pissed off tone. I peaked in to see the whole thing. This was great!

"Veronica Lodge? She stepped out to get a cappuccino. I take a message for you." She said as I rolled my eyes at her feeble attempt.

"Don't pretend to be someone else. I know who you are. Who gives you the right to run that story? How could you be so irresponsible? I've been waiting for _months_ to Dr. Arachnid to make his move and now, thanks to you, I have to improvise! You've compromised everything!" She scolded her as I smiled with glee. She's getting it now.

"Oh yeah! Well-well I think the public has the right to know!" Veronica said to her when I noticed that once Veronica stood up Supreme Girl seemed to get dizzy. What the?

"You don't really care about the public. You just had a juicy piece of gossip that you just wanted to spread." She said as she tried to regain her posture. Something was wrong. I noticed Veronica wearing new earrings and figured whatever they were made of that was hurting her. I immediately ran in there.

"Supreme Girl. We need to go!" I said to her as I immediately dragged her out of there.

"Archie! Keep Veronica here!" I said as I guided her out of there quickly. Once we were far enough I looked at her.

"Whatever her new earrings are made of is what your weak against isn't?" I asked her as she nodded.

"The only thing that can weaken me is trantonium metal." She told me as I looked at her.

"You trust me enough to tell me?" I asked her as she nodded.

"Of course." She said as I led her outside. Unaware of us being watched.

"I trust you enough to know my weakness. Besides that you would've found out what they were made of anyways. I'm just glad you got me out of there before Veronica found out." She told me as I smiled and nodded.

"It's worse enough that she ruined your plans. I won't let your secret weakness get out. I'll guard it with my life." I told her as I then let her go and crossed my heart.

"I'm glad." She said with a smile.

"I'm sure you feel better now." I said as she nodded.

"I'll see you soon smarty." She said as she then took off. I waved goodbye to her just as Archie came out here.

"What happened?" He asked me.

"Nothing. She's fine now. I won't say anything in case Veronica overhears us." I said as he nodded. He still had some stuff to do while I decided to go home for the night. The next day went by so quickly. After school Archie stayed behind while I went home. Veronica put down in the column that I knew Supreme Girl's weakness. Crackers. I'm dead. Maybe home will be safe? Let's hope.

*Dr. Arachnid's POV*

Blast! That smarty girl won't reveal anything around Veronica Lodge to get her to gossip what her weakness is. The only thing the column said was that only Aria Andrews knew Supreme Girl's weakness but refused to say what. Maybe I should coarse it out of her. But how? Maybe electrocution? Threats? I guess I'll have to see. I was chuckling to myself as I decided to find out where she lived. I followed her to her house and immediately found her room. This should be interesting. I waited an hour until she was in her room with wet hair and in pajamas. She then sat on her bed as she sighed and rested her forehead in her palms.

"What am I doing? I let Veronica get to me about the gossips and worried everyone. If that's not bad enough now _I_ know Supreme Girl's weakness. I'm a liability. How am I going to contact her if I need help? I'm boned. So boned. I'm super, Ultra, **Mega** boned! What am I going to do? I couldn't let Veronica know and put it in the paper. Great! I'm too nice. I'm going to get killed one day. Uhg. Oh well." I heard her rant as she lifted her head and looked outside. She was looking in my direction but I knew she couldn't see me. She then got up and closed the window before locking it. She then checked to make sure it was secure before she closed the curtains and then turned off the lights. This girl was smart. I can still get in though. I then opened her window and loomed over her. Just as she saw me she screamed and immediately started to fight me off. I easily used my robot arms to fight her off and used the one with the knock out gas to put her to sleep. Now she was asleep in my arms as I picked her up and leaped out her window before running off into the Evening. Once I brought her to the lair I tied her up before deciding to wake her with the anti gas. Soon she woke up and the frightened look on her face when she saw me was priceless.

*Aria's POV*

The last thing I remembered was seeing Dr. Arachnid and I screamed and fought him before smelling something weird and blacking out. Now I smell something weird when I woke up. I took a quick look around and soon saw him standing there with a smile on his face. I guess my frightened face amused him.

"Glad to see your awake." He said as I glared at him.

"What do you want?" I questioned him.

"Simple really. You know Supreme Girl's weakness and I want it." He told me. He's been spying on me.

"How long have you been watching?" I asked him.

"From the moment I trapped her at the bank. It's been on and off. So? Will you willingly tell me?" He asked me.

"No." I simply told him.

"That's fine. I don't mind the hard way." He said as he chuckled a bit after words.

*Dang it. I knew being nice and smart would get me killed.* I thought in a panic as I began to struggle.

"Oh don't worry my dear, I won't kill you. It wouldn't be worth it. After I get what I want I'll release you." He said as he came over to me and gagged my mouth.

*Jughead's POV*

Archie called me from the school and wanted me to check on Aria. He said Betty would if she wasn't babysitting right now. I didn't mind. I went to the house and knocked but no answer. I knocked again.

"Aria?" I shouted. No answer. I used the spare key and went inside. Archie's Parents were delayed until Saturday so only Aria should be home. But she didn't look like she was. Her bag was here though. She never leaves without hr bag unless she's upset. Even then rarely she leaves it behind. I went up to her room and knocked.

"Aria?" I called. Nothing. I took a big breath and opened her door. I saw a mess. A struggle. And then the open window. Something happened to Aria! She's been kidnapped. I ran to the phone to call Archie but then I had an idea! Supreme Girl! I decided to run to the school and call out for Supreme Girl to see if I could find her.

*Aria's POV*

I wasn't doing so good. I had been smacked a few times, burned lightly and even electrocuted. I didn't cave though. I was trying not to. Right now he was starting to loose his patients.

"Foolish girl. I need to know by tomorrow! Tell me!" He shouted. Tomorrow?

"W-why t-t-tom-mor-row?" I stuttered out. I was so tired and in pain. I wanted this to end.

"Because of my big plan tomorrow. Now tell me her weakness!" He shouted the last sentence as I flinched.

"I w-won't t-te-ell! Y-you-u c-can't br-break m-me-e!" I said as loud as I could through my stutters and pain.

"You're such a pain." He complained before he picked up a cup of tea and drank some.

"How to make you break." He was thinking.

"Maybe I should find those two boys. Your _boyfriends_ Miss Lodge called them." He taunted.

"L-leave th-them a-alon-ne. Th-this is be-betwe-een us!" I stated as he chuckled.

"You forget I'm a criminal mastermind. This is my specialty." He said.

"Y-you-u W-won't H-ha-ave t-t-time!" I told him as he frowned.

"You really _are_ smart. No matter. Let's keep going shall we?" He said as he put his cup of tea down. He then walked over to me and grabbed my face.

"You know if you told me this would stop right? Just tell me and you won't have to suffer anymore. You could go home. How about it?" He asked me while I looked at him with hatred and disgust. I then spat in his face. He didn't like that because then I got backhanded across the face.

"Very well." He said as he threw this electric net over me.

"I'll make you talk." He said as he walked away right when the net turned on. I screamed.

*Dr. Arachnid's POV*

Miss smarty here was tough. I'll give her that. I've been trying to break her for 2 hours now. It's almost 8 at night. I left her to my electric net, which pulses every 3 minutes and lasts 20 seconds, and I began to work on a new gas to test on her. A truth gas. I tried before but it never worked. Maybe now I can try to perfect it. Even if it's just temporarily. I had finished it in 21 minutes. Let's see if she's still kicking. I went inside just to see another round had just finished on her. She was panting and trying not to cry. I smiled at that. I soon took the net off her. She looked at me with hate in her exhausted eyes.

"Let's try this." I told her as I sprayed the gas on her. She coughed and tried not to breathe in in but she did never the less.

"Now. Will you tell me Supreme Girl's weakness?" I asked her.

"I-I w-w-won't! I-I P-p-pro-omi-is-sed!" She stuttered out.

"Yes yes. I know all that. But your the only one who knows besides her. Correct?" I asked her as a test.

"Y-yes." She told me.

"I see. And did it have something to do with what was in the school?" I asked her.

"Y-yes." She stuttered out. I smiled. My truth gas was working and with her exhaustion this just might work.

"Was it something someone was wearing?" I pushed on.

"S-st-top!" She tried to yell in her weak voice. I was right.

"Maybe Something Miss Lodge was wearing?" I asked her as she refused to answer me.

"Oh? Figured it out already? I'm just talking." I told her.

"I-I wo-won't te-ell you." She said. She sounded like a broken record.

"I'm just talking to you Miss smarty. It's not like her weakness is a type of clothing?" I questioned with edge. Just a small push.

"S-stop!" She was resisting. I was now loosing my patients.

"Tell me now!" I shouted at her while slamming my hands down on the arms of the chair.

"I won't tell you about the trantonium!" She suddenly shouted before she gasped and had a look of pure shock and horror on her face. She slipped. Trantonium. I chuckled.

"So? Trantonium?" I asked her as she looked away from me.

"I see. Well now I have to go see Supreme Girl now. Thank you for telling me." I told her as I gagged her and left. Now to find Supreme Girl. But first. A trip to the jewelry store. I robbed a store of a Trantonium necklace and soon lured Supreme Girl to the school. We talked before I showed her the 'gift' I had for her. She became weak from the necklace. I then put it on her and told her it suited her nicely. I was starting to leave but then I had a thought.

"You can thank Miss smarty for telling me all about it." I said to her as I laughed and ran off into the night.

*Jughead's POV*

I couldn't find Supreme Girl but I managed to get to Archie in the principle's office with Supreme Girl.

"Arch!" I shouted as I ran inside.

"What's wrong?" He asked me in a worried tone.

"Aria's missing. I went to check on her and her room is tore up and her window was open. I think she's been kidnapped." I said to him in a panic.

"Oh no! Dr. Arachnid might have her! She knew Supreme Girl's weakness and he might have found out." Archie said to me.

"She told him." Supreme girl stated as it seemed like she was regaining her strength.

"Aria wouldn't tell. He must have made her. If he hurt her!" I said as I got angry. I know he hurt her.

"It's true. She wouldn't tell a secret like that." Archie told her as he locked up the necklace. We then proceeded to get her out of here. She was explaining that now Dr. Arachnid won't be expecting her.

"But what about Aria?" I asked her.

"Don't worry. I think he'll drop her off at the party. He doesn't like keeping his hostages for long and he never kills them." She said as I sighed in relief.

"But that's still not enough." I said in sadness.

"If I can find her then I'll notify the cops to rescue her quickly." She said as we left. Archie was upset about leaving her alone and I was upset that I didn't go and have her go out with me like I wanted. We were going to try and not fret over it but we were still worried about it. Archie went back to the computer room and I decided to go tell Dilton what happened. He had every right to know.

*Veronica's POV*

I was looking for Archie when I saw Supreme Girl. She then started glowing and in her place was Olga. When Olga left I was giddy. Olga was Supreme Girl. This was the hottest gossip yet! I decided to go back and type it up for next week's article and leave it a secret. We finished before midnight and I asked Archie to bring me home but he wouldn't. Fine. At least he'll be at the party.

*Aria's POV*

What have I done? I blurted out Supreme Girl's weakness to her enemy and now she's in danger. What's going to happen to her? What's going to happen to me now that I'm not of any use anymore? I heard him come back and soon he was in my line of vision. Granted it was slightly blurry but I knew it was him.

"Still awake Miss smarty? That won't do. You need your rest for the party tomorrow." He said to me.

"Mmrfmh?" I tried saying party but the gag made it muffled.

"Yes a party. I'm going to rob the Lodge family at the banquet tomorrow and Supreme Girl is going to be busy all weekend thanks to you." He told me as I looked down in shame.

"Don't fret. I'm going to use you as leverage. A hostage really. So no one follows me. I'm not going to kill you. Oh no. I'm too much of a gentleman for that. But a hostage is brilliant." He told me as I then sniffed the sleep gas.

"But you need rest. Sweet dreams." He said as he laughed. Soon my world went black.

*Third POV*

Archie was at the party with Veronica. In all do honesty he didn't want to be there but if Dr. Arachnid was going to use Aria as a hostage then he _needed_ to be here. He told Veronica he would go and be her date if she agreed to let Dilton and Jughead join for when Aria showed up. She was reluctant but caved for him.

"I wonder if your father deliberately had the neck on this tux fitted one size too small." Archie said to her as he pulled on the neck line.

"I can't breathe." he added in when he fixed the red bow tie. Suddenly Veronica clung on to him like she always did.

"I'm just glad your not mad at me anymore." She said seductively to him. Archie glared at her.

"I'm still mad at you Veronica. But I have a-Story to cover." He told her. That part was true.

"Huh?" Veronica questioned. She then unlatched herself from him

"Fine Archie. Be that way. But when my next Article comes out even _you_ will be impressed by me. I've discovered Supreme Girl's identity." Veronica boasted. She went to far this time. Archie then grabbed her arm and yanked her to him as he glared at her.

"Veronica. Stop. Be serious. You can't reveal her identity. I wasn't going to say this but because of your last column about Aria knowing Supreme Girl's weakness she got kidnapped. We have no idea where she is and we think that he might hurt her. That's why Jughead and Dilton are here. Too see if there is any sign of her anywhere. If he's using her as a hostage then they can inform me." I told her as she gasped about this.

"Y-your lying." She said as Archie gave her a hard glare.

"No Veronica. I'm not. And if you put in that column Supreme Girl's identity, not only do you put Supreme Girl in danger, But Aria could be killed after so he could get you next." Archie warned her.

"I-I. I didn't want anyone to get kidnapped and hurt." Veronica said in sadness. She was slowly starting to realize her mistakes to late. Meanwhile Olga was waiting in the bushes.

"Where is Dr. Arachnid?" She asked herself. Mister Lodge had been talking when suddenly Dr. Arachnid showed up melted the speaker stand. Mister Lodge said something about it being in the family for 6 generations before he ran for cover.

"Nobody move and nobody gets hurt. Especially her." Dr. Arachnid said as he held a weak looking Aria, still in pajamas, over his head with two of his mechanical arms. He then walked over to where the money was while people were screaming. He suddenly turned to the crowd of screaming and gasping people.

"What's the matter? Never seen an eight armed mutant criminal mastermind from the 12th dimension with a hostage before?" He asked them as he lowered Aria down so now only one of his mechanical arms were wrapped around her as he laughed at them.

"As long as everyone cooperates she lives." He said as he then ripped the tape off her mouth. Aria cringed and tried to struggle. She was so tired and weak that she couldn't. She was littered with light burns, electrocution marks, and her face was still red from the smack marks and tears. She was also covered in dirt and sweat along with rope marks from her struggles. All in all Aria looked like a wreck. Archie and Veronica gasped at her appearance. Veronica now felt horrible. This was all her fault. If she hadn't gossiped about Aria knowing Supreme Girl's weakness then none of this would be happening to Aria. She would've been fine.

"Oh no. Poor Aria. Now is as good a time as any." Olga said to herself as she then transformed into Supreme Girl and leaped up into the air. Dr. Arachnid then went over and picked up the money with the rest of his mechanical arms and one of his real hands as the other started to wrap around Aria.

"I want to thank you all for this generous donation and to also thank this lovely high school hostage for telling me the weakness of the one superhero who could have saved you." He said and then laughed a bit.

"You mean me Dr. Arachnid?" Supreme Girl asked him as both he and Aria grew shocked. She was flying above them.

"Oh Fudge." Dr. Arachnid said with a scowl.

"Help." Aria called as loud as she could, which was barely above a whisper, to Supreme Girl as she tried to struggle again.

"I'm going to send you back to where you do belong. In the 12th dimension. And You will release Her right now." Supreme Girl said with anger in her tone mixed with justice.

"You think so hm?" He said as he then put the money down, held Aria with both of his real arms, and used the mechanical ones to shoot lasers at her. Of course she was easily dodging but Aria was thinking on how to distract him long enough.

"Your not getting me easily this time. Now it's your turn Dr. Arachnid." She scowled at him as he growled at her. Aria felt more and more helpless. What could she do?

"You think so hm?" He questioned as he then saw Veronica. Aria saw her to, and her earrings, and knew what was to happen. After knocking Archie away he soon he had the money, Aria, And veronica in his grip.

"You see now I have 2 hostages. And look. This one is wearing Trantonuim earrings. You won't dare come near because your powers will drain." He said as he laughed.

"Sorry. I just thought they looked fashionable." She said as I sighed. Veronica didn't know. I got mad and managed to muster enough strength to head but him in the nose.

"Yeowch!" He shrieked as he then let go of the money and the girls.

"Ronnie run!" Aria managed to speak loud enough for Veronica to hear and she obeyed.

"Meddling teenager!" He yelled as he went to pick her up with one of his mechanical arms when he got jumped by three guys she knew all to well. Jughead, Dilton, and Archie.

"Leave my/our cousin/girlfriend alone!" They shouted. It shocked Aria to hear both Jughead and Dilton scream 'Our girlfriend' to him when they didn't want to share and all three agreed just friends until things could be sorted out. It warmed her inside though to know that both boys, who usually don't fight, are trying this hard to save her. It wasn't long before all three were knocked away though but at the cost of Dr. Arachnid stumbling backwards a bit before falling down.

"Pesky Teenagers. You'll pay for this." He said as he the stood up and went to attack them before Supreme Girl stepped in. Jughead and Dilton had sneaked over to Aria and pulled her out of harms way.

"Sorry Dr. Arachnid but he's just to cute for me to let you harm him." Aria heard say, referencing to Archie, as she then attacked him.

"What would it take to stop your persistent interference?" Dr. Arachnid asked her as she stealthy blocked and even did a split to show off.

"How about a nice long sentence in a prison in the 12th dimension? That should do it." She replied with confidence as she went in for the final blow. Putting hand cuffs on all his wrists to trap him.

"Oh. Double Fudge." He said in a grumpy tone. Soon the boys freed Aria as Supreme girl then flew off with the bad guy. Everyone applauded.

"Are you alright?" Jughead asked Aria as he then hugged her. Dilton looked at her injuries before having a turn to hug her as well.

"I think we should get you to a hospital." Dilton concluded as Aria weakly nodded. Archie and Veronica checked on her and Veronica insisted that her and her father take her to the hospital. When at the hospital Mister Lodge explained how he paid the bill off. Aria didn't want him to but he said it was both an apology for Veronica getting her kidnapped and as a thank you for getting her out of harms way. Veronica constantly apologized and Aria knew she learned her lesson right then and there. Soon she was able to go home where Dilton and Jughead babied and pampered her for a while before she shooed them away claiming she didn't want that and that she would be fine. That was until the stomach bug came in. Olga stopped by to check on Aria Monday morning before school so Aria could give her the other half of what had happened through this whole thing.

"I know your Supreme Girl." Aria whispered.

"I figured it out after the party. How many girls have red hair in this town?" She had whispered to her. Olga was shocked about that.

"I never meant to tell him. He used a truth gas and I ended up telling. I never meant to." She had whispered some more.

"It's alright. I know what happened. Archie said you wouldn't tell. I know you were forced to somehow. He. You really are smart." Olga said as she patted Aria's head.

"See you around smarty." She said as Aria dozed off. Olga knew Aria would keep the secret. Now she could go help Archie with the article.

*Olga's POV After School*

I was finishing up Archie's article for him with Aria's half in it. That girl was tough for someone not from the 12th dimension.

"Thanks for helping Aria and I with the follow up story on Dr. Arachnid. I hope they let you write for the news paper at your new school." Archie told me as I smiled at him. Man was he cute and kind.

"We're sure going to miss you in Riverdale." He added in as he was ready to open the door to leave.

"I'll miss you too…..Cutie." I said the last part with confidence and playfulness.

"Huh?" I heard Archie say.

"Na!" He muttered quietly as I smiled. He wasn't as smart as Aria was but he was cute.

"Um Archie? Could I have a moment alone with Olga?" I suddenly heard Veronica ask. Why me?

"Sure." Archie said before he left the two of us alone. She then came over to me.

"Olga. I know your secret." She told me. I know which one she means.

"So. The day I feared has finally arrived." I said to her.

"But why Olga? When you can be beautiful, glamorous, powerful and heroic all the time do you want to be Olga at all?" She asked me as I sighed. I hope that she will understand. Aria was smart enough to figure it out and not question why meaning she knew why.

"When I'm Olga no one treats me like I'm different. I may not be the most popular or the prettiest but I get to be a normal teenager. That's all I really want. A private life." I told her as I began to walk away. Maybe it will work.

"I guess that makes sense." She said. I turn and look at her. It did work. The truth worked.

"So? Are you going to reveal my secret identity in your column?" I asked with with a small pinch of fear. Veronica shook her head no.

"To tell the truth. After seeing all the trouble my gossiping got you and Aria I've decided not to do the article anymore. Your secrets safe with me. Maybe I should do a fashion column like Aria said." She told me as I smiled.

"That's good that you'll keep it safe. Aria knows my secret to. She figured it out after the party. She's very smart you know. But also sensitive. Please don't hurt her anymore." I told her this as Veronica smiled.

"I won't. Not on purpose." She said as I smiled. I start walking away but the remembered something.

"Oh! And give Archie a kiss on the cheek for me." I told her as I walked away.

*Aria's POV*

"I guess Veronica's quite gossiping cold turkey. She convinced Cynthia that a fashion column would be much better then a gossip column. She saw how much trouble gossip caused and she took my advice on the fashion column. ~Aria. Also no matter how hard I try to get them to, both Veronica and Aria refuse to give me Supreme Girl's identity. In the end it's probably for the best. ~Archie. All of us are entitled to a little privacy. ~Aria. Even a beautiful heroine who for a while stayed. ~Archie. …...In a little town called Riverdale! ~Archie and Aria." We finished the article and Archie helped me to bed. He wanted me to rest and so did Aunt Mary and Uncle Fred. I definitely wasn't feeling good. I knew I would heal and it didn't bother me it was the nausea that did. I ended up falling asleep.


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Beware Of The Glob!

*Dilton's POV*

It was Monday night and I was working on a growth serum without Aria. As sad as that was She had fallen ill to a stomach bug. That would explain why she hadn't been well on and off for the past month. I had gone over to bring her her homework but I wasn't the only visitor. Jughead was there too. Granted he was there to visit Archie like usual but he had decided to check on her as well. I might be a man of science but he was getting on my nerves. Ever since I found out Jughead likes Aria as well I had gained a rival for her affection. Especially since she felt the same way for _both_ of us. I guess she kind of _was_ like Archie when it came to Betty and Veronica. I had also made her a cup of tea with honey to help her get better before I returned to the lab. My growth serum was completed now and I decided to put it in the school fridge, labeled property of science, and smiled in satisfaction. I decided to go home for the night and called Aria to check on her.

*Aria's POV*

My burns were gone, like I figured, and my illness was just about gone. I'd be fine by tomorrow but it killed me Sunday and today. I didn't even go in today and it made me sad that I couldn't help Dilton in the lab tonight. Good news was Jughead and Dilton checked on me, Dilton brought my homework over before going into the lab, even made me tea with honey, and Jughead was with Archie anyways, which was nice of them. I guess what had happened after Supreme Girl saved the day both boys apologized for saying 'My girlfriend' and. Well. I guess I accepted it and now am dating both in a weird way. I'm not a couple with either of them but we will start going on dates and I don't mind them calling me 'his' girl within reason. It's complicated. I know I'm going to have to choose soon but they're going to be patient and not pressure me at all. I had been in the living room and Archie got upset that I was down here instead of my room. I was bored. I don't have a TV up there.

"Aria you need to sleep." Archie told me.

"All I've been doing is sleeping. I wanna finish my movie.~" I whined the movie part out as I was watching 'The Fox and the Hound' and curled under the blanket.

"Really? This one?" He asked me.

"It helps me feel better when I'm sick. That and Dumbo and Bambi. I'm not sure why." I said as I continued watching.

"She's fine Arch." Jughead said as he walked out of the kitchen and brought me tomato soup and a grilled cheese.

"Oh Jughead." I said in a kind voice as I hugged him.

"I thought you went in there to make a snack?" Archie asked.

"I did! I didn't say it was for me though." He told him as he gave me the tray.

"You need to eat in case you get sick again." He told me as I smiled.

"How'd ya know Tomato soup with grilled cheese was what I liked?" I asked him.

"Your aunt told me." He said simply as I smiled and dunked the sandwich in the soup before biting into it.

"Mmm. Yummy!~" I said with a mouth full of sandwich as I continued eating and watching my movie.

"Just remember to sleep for school tomorrow alright?" He said as I nodded my head.

"I've gotta head home. See you two tomorrow." He said before he kissed my cheek, earning a tiny eep out of me, and waved to Archie before leaving.

"I'll never get used to that." Archie said just as the phone rang.

"Andrews residence Archie speaking." He said.

"Oh yeah. Sure." He said before he handed me the phone.

"It's Dilton." He said as he walked away.

"Hi Dilton." I said as I continued eating and watched the movie.

"Salutations Aria. How are you feeling?" He asked me.

"Much better actually." I said as the train scene suddenly came up.

"Are you watching a movie?" He asked me.

"Yeah. 'The Fox and the Hound'. For some reason it usually makes me feel better." I said as I gulped down some of the soup.

"That's fine. Just make sure you eat something." He told me in a concerned boyfriend way.

"Actually Jughead just made me grilled cheese and tomato soup before leaving. He asked Aunt Mary what soup I liked. It's good too." I told him as I took another bite of my sandwich.

"Well that's good. Just make sure to rest though." He told me.

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow." I told him.

"See you tomorrow." He said and I could tell he was smiling. I hung up and watched my movie, crying at the 'goodbye may seem forever' song like usual, and when it was over I put everything away and went to sleep.

*Next day Aria's POV*

We were in the middle of History/Geography class and I was glad I brought a lunch. Tuna salad and Tapioca pudding. Yuck. Anyways I was in the back of the class with Betty and Jughead and I wasn't paying attention at all. It wasn't because I still felt sick. It was because I was bored. Geography part of history wasn't that great for me. Also I already knew this but didn't feel like answering at all. I was thinking about my relationships with Dilton and Jughead and trying to compare both boys to each other and why I liked them both.

"They're at it again. They've been like this since we were kids." I heard Jughead say as I snapped out of my own thoughts.

"Huh? What?" I said as Jughead shook his head.

"Archie and Reggie are fighting again." Jughead said to me.

"Again? Good grief." I muttered.

"Just imagine if they could channel that energy into working together. Together they could accomplish anything." Betty said to us.

"I agree. Unfortunately those two rarely get along. I don't think a monster made of pudding could get them to work together." I said as I gave an oddball example. Jughead stiffened a laugh while Betty rolled her eyes. Suddenly we heard a thud and I looked up to see Archie had ripped the map and his head stuck through it. I wanted to laugh but I knew better. Instead I got up and ran to Archie to help him.

"Here. Let me help." I said as I carefully pulled the map off him. That's when I noticed a pile of books on the ground.

"Whomever left these books here should've made sure they were out of the way. That's why this happened." I pointed out as Miss Grundy finally noticed the books. I sat back down and started to drown out Reggie's taunts and Miss Grundy's lecture until.

"Miss Grundy! Look out!" Reggie said as I heard her scream. I looked at a weird glob monster that soon swallowed her up.

"What the frog?" I questioned as soon we all ran out of the room. I was trying to help those that fell as I managed to get out. After a bit Reggie and Archie ran into me, Jughead and Dilton.

"Where's Betty?" I asked them.

"It got her." They both said before glaring at each other. Oh boy.

"Before you two fight let's get to the gym. Everyone is meeting up there." I said as we went to the gym to figure this out. Archie soon had a megaphone and used it to get everyone lefts, not a lot by the way, attention.

"Listen everyone. I know we lost some friend to that _thing,_ whatever it is, but we can't just stand around feeling sad and doing nothing. We've got to rally together and stop it before it strikes again. We need to get organized. Come up with a plan." Archie said, making everyone gain courage and hope, as Reggie made his way through the crowd before pointing at Archie.

"I agree." Reggie suddenly said.

"Wa?" I said in shock. Reggie? Agree with Archie? There had to be some catch.

"You do?" Archie asked him before Reggie took the megaphone away and started talking into it. Oh boy! Here comes the catch.

"Sure. We need a plan. But we don't need this _loser_ telling us what to do." He said in a rude tone while pointing to my cousin. Oh boy. I smacked my forehead in frustration.

"We need to figure out what it is." I muttered.

"We need someone who is brave and resourceful. Mainly me." He added as I groaned. Egotistical as usual. Archie and Reggie fought for 2 seconds over the megaphone before Reggie continued to use it.

"Now if you really want to stop this glob You'll join me at the tennis court. I have a sure fire plan." He said full of confidence before tossing the megaphone back to Archie. There's _no way_ people would-Oh haystacks they're following him. Why?

"Your making a big mistake. Don't follow him. Following him will lead to your doom!" Archie was saying but they didn't listen. Only Jughead, Dilton and I did. Great. We went up to him to comfort and support him.

"We're with you Arch!" Jughead said as he patted his shoulder.

"And I think I have a plan that can stop this creature." Dilton said as I smiled.

"With the four of us there's nothing we can't do." I said to boost his spirits. It worked. We immediately went to Dilton's lab to get started on how to stop the glob. When we got there Dilton pulled the cloth off one of his machines to show off.

"Aria and I have been working on this laser cannon for months now. Thanks to Aria's help we completed it in a shorter amount of time." He boasted as I blushed and then thought about it.

"Oh I get it. We need someone to be the bait and lure it so we could use it." I said as Dilton nodded.

"Yes that's correct." Dilton said as I smiled. It might just work. That's when Dilton and Jughead looked at Archie with a smile. Really?

"Gee thanks guys. What ever happened to waiting for someone to volunteer?" Archie said before we started to go out.

"Archie I can do it. If I go get my bag I can use my skates to go faster. I can do a quick undo for the stairs. I'd be faster." I said as Archie, while we set up where the glob should be heading next, as he shook his head no.

"I want you to stay back there and help Dilton out." He said as I sighed.

"Alright fine. I'll let _you_ have all the fun this time." I said with a smile as I hugged him. I was helping Dilton set up the laser while Archie and Jughead looked over to see if the glob was coming. Soon Jughead came over to us.

"It's here." He said as Archie caught it's attention.

"Aria! Dilton! Get ready! Here it comes!" Archie shouted, running at us with the glob behind him, as Dilton and I started up the laser.

"Archie!" We heard someone say. Wait? Wasn't that Betty's voice?

"Wait! Hold your fire!" Archie suddenly said. I looked and saw Betty starting to poke out of the glob.

"Look! It's Betty!" He said as he pointed to her.

"Archie! We're all still alive! There are air pockets." She said as I turned the laser off on Dilton.

"Wha-?" He started but I cut him off.

"We can't fire it Dilton. We'll hurt them." I told him as he then realized I was the reason why the laser turned off. Dilton looked at me and knew I was right.

"Help! Archie!" He heard Betty yell before the glob re-swallowed her and, just as Archie yelled her name and almost grabbed her, fled from the scene.

"Well. At least we know they're okay in there." Jughead said in a comforting way as we gathered together, Dilton holding the laser, as I tried to think of something.

"But those air pockets won't last forever." Dilton pointed out as Archie went from glum to panic.

"How are we going to stop that glob _and_ save everyone before those air pockets run out?" Archie asked in worry. I then noticed a small bit of the glob on the floor. I immediately went over and collected a sample of it.

"Maybe we can use this sample in the lab to see what it's made of and how to stop it." I said as I turned to them.

"Good idea. The sooner we figure out what this glob is the easier." Dilton agreed and pointed out as I smiled. We went back to the lab, un aware of the damage the glob was causing, so Dilton and I could figure out this substance. While Dilton and I were both examining it Jughead was next to me as Archie paced around the room. As Dilton and I examined it I noticed something off.

"Well? Got anymore ideas Arch?" Jughead questioned him.

"I don't know Jug. By the looks of it I'd say we're beaten." He said as I rolled my eyes.

"Way to be positive." I said just as Reggie opened the door and walked in.

"What's wrong Reg? Lost your followers to the glob?" I asked in a sarcastic tone.

"That's exactly what happened." He said as I sighed. Typical.

"I got some bad news though. I just saw that thing roaming through town and it's getting bigger and bigger by the minute." Reggie said as I tried to concentrate with Dilton.

"Great? Know what are we supposed to do?" Jughead asked as I, without looking away from the magnified glass that Dilton and I each had, patted his back.

"We'll come up with something." I said as I continued to look at he glob.

"That's weird. I've been analyzing this residue and can't figure out it's components." Dilton said as he became stumped.

"Oh that's terrific news brainiac. Now we're really doomed." Reggie said as I now grew agitated.

"Not our fault this stuff looks like pudding." I said as Jughead brightened up.

"Hm." Jughead said as he picked up my sample before sniffing it.

"Ah! I thought it smelled familiar." He said as I looked at him funny.

"Huh? What do you mean Jug?" Archie asked as Jughead dipped his finger in the sample and licked it. Wait what?

"Pudding lady and gentlemen. Tapioca to be exact." Jughead said as I figured it all out now.

"I know what happened!" I shouted as they looked at me.

"Today's Tuesday! Tuna surprise and Tapioca pudding day without fail. I know because I always bring a lunch on Tuesdays and get a pudding cup for Jughead to have extra." I exclaimed as they went wide eyed.

"Alright but how did it turn into this?" Reggie asked me in a skeptical way.

"Simple. Dilton's super growth formula." I said as I motioned to Dilton.

"Dilton. You said you were working on a formula that would most likely need to stay cold for 8 hours or so correct?" I asked as he then realized what happened.

"Oh no! I put it in the fridge in the cafeteria! But I labeled it! So someone didn't read it and-" Dilton started before I cut him off.

"Now we have a pudding glob." Now this was weird.

"Hey Aria? Didn't you say in class before Miss Grundy got swallowed up that 'not even a monster made of pudding could get Archie and Reggie to work together'?" Jughead asked me, quoting my almost exact words, as my cheeks went red from embarrassment.

"I _really_ need to learn to keep my mouth shut." I muttered as Archie and Reggie rolled their eyes.

"Okay. So now that we've identified it, what do we do to stop it?" Reggie asked as I thought about that.

"Water? Doesn't to much water make it soggy and more liquefied?" I asked Dilton as he nodded.

"Yes that's correct." Dilton answered.

"So maybe if we can get to the fire house we can use a fire hose to water it down." I suggested the thought.

"It's better than no plan. Let's try it." Archie said. Reggie was about to protest but I smacked him and got him to go along with it. Now we hurried to the fire house, we ran because that monster ate Archie's car, and soon discovered that it was empty.

"Where did everybody go?" Archie asked.

"Something tells me we're too late." Dilton said as we looked over and saw the blotch of pudding on the wall. Great.

"Oh yeah? Well that thing might have eaten the fire trucks, but we can still help ourselves to the hoses." Archie said with anger and determination.

"Guess again. Look!" Reggie said with worry as we looked. All the hoses were gone as well.

"What an appetite." Jughead commented.

"I don't believe it. It ate all the trucks _and_ the hoses." Archie said as I heard a gurgle sound right next to me. Uh oh. I looked over just as it reclined.

"Ah!" I screamed as it smacked down on me and swallowed me whole.

"Aria" Was the last thing I heard Dilton and Jughead scream before everything became muffled and hard to breathe. I soon found an air pocket and breathed.

*Oh great. Stuck inside Tapioca pudding. Why couldn't it be chocolate?* I thought as I took slow deep breaths to preserve the air. I could tell we were moving but I couldn't see nor hear anything.

*Third POV*

Everyone ran to Pop's after seeing Aria get swallowed. Dilton and Jughead felt horrible since they couldn't do a thing at the moment. They had gotten to Pop's and, at first he thought they were eager customers, until they explained what happened. Of course he didn't believe them and thought it was some 'groovy happening' thing until Pops asked Jughead if he wanted his usual. Jughead said no time and that's when Pops knew something was up. Especially when he saw the glob himself. Now they were trying to think of a plan to save everybody. They had decided to use the seltzer bottles until they ran out. He was too big to handle. Jughead then had an idea. He put on a napkin as a bib and grabbed a can of whipped cream and a spoon. He was marching outside as he said

"I'm going in." and was soon at the door. Archie then blocked his path.

"No Jughead. I can't let you do this. It's a suicide mission." Archie exclaimed but soon saw the look of determination on his face.

"Sorry Arch. But this is between me and that glob." He said boldly as he stormed outside.

"Don't worry Aria. I'll eat my way to your freedom!" Jughead yelled, surprising the guys in the Shoppe, not just for what he said, but because he actually started to eat the pudding monster smaller.

"I don't believe it. It's working." Archie exclaimed in shock.

"That's my best costumer out there." Pops exclaimed happily until.

"Wait! He's starting to wobble. I think he ate too much." Dilton exclaimed

"That's impossible." Pops said in disbelief but soon they saw Jughead was, indeed wobbling. Soon he, too, was devoured by the glob. Now they thought they were doomed. Archie and Reggie soon started fighting with each other again. They argued about who should've been leader and what would've happened if Reggie was one until Pops sprayed whip cream in there hair.

"You boys knock it off. You're fighting worse than cats and dogs when were supposed to be at our finest hour. Not fighting or arguing." Pops said as both boys became embarrassed and stopped fighting.

"He's right. We should be pooling our ideas instead of arguing who has the better one." Archie said as he and Reggie used they're fingers and hands to clean their hair out.

"Yeah. You've got a point there." Reggie agreed. Dilton had been trying to think while this happened. He took this time to talk to them about how to get enough water to dissolve this glob. Reggie then said something about a rain dance and that gave Archie an idea.

"That's it. Rain." Archie exclaimed as Reggie looked at him.

"But I don't know any rain dances." Reggie said before Archie shook his head.

"No. Not that. We can make it rain through cloud seeding." Archie said as he remembered Aria helping him with his homework on cloud seeding.

"Dilton. Can you mix up a cloud seeding solution?" Archie asked as Dilton thought about it. He could but then what.

"It shouldn't be too hard. But how are we going to get above the clouds to seed them?" Dilton asked. Soon Reggie popped up saying his uncle owns a plane and Pops said he had a pilot license. This could work. But how to get out was the bigger question. Archie decided to distract the glob so the others could get out. Dilton didn't want to leave him there but Reggie told him that he was counting on all of them as the three soon fled from the scene to get the mixture ready and hop into the plane that was now in the air thanks to Pops. During that time Archie was running through the park to escape that thing. Inside the glob, everyone was in a panic except Aria. She had tried to warn others to stay calm but thought it might have fallen upon deaf ears. She was only half right as the ones that heard soon spread to the others to calm their breathing to preserve air. Some listened. Aria felt alone until a head poked through.

"Jughead?" She questioned as he held her close to him.

"Don't worry. I'll still eat our way out." He said as she saw he was full and trying to eat. She got him to stop and encouraged him that Archie, Dilton and Reggie would save them. Outside the glob she was right. Reggie, Dilton and Pops soon spotted Archie and the glob from the plane and got ready to seed the clouds.

"Are you sure this will work?" Reggie asked Dilton.

"Yes. Once this formula hits the clouds it should begin raining almost instantaneously. Just pull the lever." Dilton explained to him. Reggie tried to pull the lever to release the stuff in the clouds but it was stuck.

"Uh oh. It's stuck." He exclaimed as they now had no idea what to do. Reggie decided right then and there to man up and climb out the small side door to pull the release hatch they needed and, after almost falling out twice, managed to do it to seed the clouds. He then made it back in the plane.

"I did it! I can't believe I did it!" Reggie yelled in excitement. Archie grew nervous and was about to get swallowed up as well before the rain began. The glob screamed in pain and soon dissolved into a puddle. Everyone that was in the glob were surprised by this but were soon happy and grateful that it was all over. Jughead was still holding Aria, claiming he could've gotten them out in a couple hours, while Aria just shook her head. That boy never gave up when it came to eating food.

"Archie." She heard Betty yell as she looked and saw Archie and Betty hugging.

"I told you they would help us." Aria said to Jughead as she pulled away. Once Aria, Jughead and Archie, who hugged Aria, met up with Reggie and Dilton she soon saw that it was Pops who was flying the plane that was above them and they talked about what had happened. Everyone in town soon cleaned up and had started some repairs. Once the town was clean the day was over. Jughead and Dilton were glad Aria had been safe and she was grateful for their rescue attempt. They all went to the Shoppe to celebrate the victory. During that time Reggie and Archie soon started fighting over who should pay the bill. Betty grabbed it and stated that they would pay the bill as Jughead, Dilton and Aria followed. She gave Pops her part of the money and smiled. Dilton and Jughead each had an arm around her when they all paid. Reggie and Archie were smiling at their teamwork and agreed that they could try to do this more often to get out of paying for the bill for a few weeks. Once the bill was paid Aria grabbed Archie, said goodbye to everyone, and went home.

*Aria's POV*

"I don't know why it started but mine and Reggie's rivalry grew too big and out of control. Just like the Glob. I don't know how are friends put up with us. It must've been extremely annoying. ~Archie. You're telling me. It definitely _was_ annoying. But without your rivalry then you wouldn't realize how good of friends you two are. You just need to learn when enough is enough. ~Aria. It finally took a school dessert to get use to work together as a team. ~Archie. A yucky one at that. Just another lesson on the menu. ~Aria. …..In a little town called Riverdale! ~Archie and Aria." We finished the article and saved it. I decided to hop in the shower to get the feel, smell, feel and small clumps still in my hair off of me. Once done I was in purple shorts and a black tank top with a tiny purple bow on it when Archie told me Jughead was on the phone for me. I ran down the stairs and grabbed the phone.

"Hi Jughead." I said in a happy voice.

"Hey Aria. If your up for it how about we go to the movies on Friday? Doctor Giggles is showing and I know we both wanted to see it." He told me as I smiled.

*Is he asking me on a date?* I thought as I blushed lightly and kept smiling.

"Sure. That sounds like fun." I said to him.

"Great. We can go to Pop Tate's first. I'll get you at 5 alright?" He asked me.

"Yeah sure." I said to him. We said our goodbyes and I hung up the phone. Just as I gave it to Archie and started walking away the phone rang again.

"Hello Andrews residence Archie speaking." I heard him say. Right when I got to the stairs.

"Hold it Aria! Dilton wants to talk to you." Archie yelled as I ran back over and grabbed the phone from him.

"Hey Dilton." I happily said to him.

"Salutations Aria. I was wondering if you had plans for Friday." He said to me.

"Yes actually. I just made plans with Jughead who I just got off the phone with." I told him.

"Alright. Are you free Saturday?" He asked me.

"Yes I am." I said in another happy tone.

"Great. Would you like to accompany me to lunch and watch Doctor Who with me?" He asked me as I thought about it.

*He's asking me out as well?* I thought as I smiled and blushed lightly again.

"Sure. I'd like that." I replied.

"Great. How does one o'clock sound?" He asked me.

"Sounds perfect." I replied. We both said our good nights and I hung up the phone. I handed it back to him and saw his dopey grin. I glared at him.

"What?" I asked him sceptically.

"I thought you said no dates?" He asked me as I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah. Well…...Things change." I told him as I blushed pink. He started chuckling and I blushed harder.

"Shut up!" I nearly yelled at him as he laughed harder.

"I said shut up!" I raised my voice now.

"What's going on now?" Aunt Mary asked when she walked into the kitchen.

"Aria has two dates this Friday and Saturday." Archie said.

"Archie!~" I whined as, the next thing I knew, I was hugged and held tight by my aunt.

"Oh! My little Aria's going on her first date! Two! Who is it. Archie do you know?" She was so excited and bubbly as she looked to Archie for answers.

"Aunt Mary!~ I can't breathe!~" I whined but she didn't let go.

"Friday with Jughead and Saturday with Dilton." He said as he was laughing at the situation.

"Two guys?" My aunt just about screamed in shock as I managed to wiggly enough to loosen her grip and breathed in heavy gasps of air.

"I never thought Jughead would _ever_ go on a date." Aunt Mary said as she looked at me.

"Now are you sure-" She started but I cut her off.

"Archie and I talked about it. I like them both and they both like me. I'm not using them or taking advantage of either. I will decide on one sometime in the future but for now I'll just accept this as it is." I told her as she held me tight again.

"I can't wait to get you a new dresses! Your going to look so Beautiful!" She boasted as I squirmed.

"I don't want new dresses though. I don't even like dresses. Only on formal occasions. Can't breathe again. Archie! Help!~" I whined as Aunt Mary held me to her.

"Oh but you have to look nice! Maybe we can get your hair done too." She was saying as Uncle Fred walked in on this and Archie laughed harder.

"Uncle Fred! Help!~" I whined as he got her to let go of me. I took in huge gasps of air and glared at Archie.

"What's going on?" Uncle Fred asked.

"Aria has two dates with two guys and she won't let me dress her up." She exclaimed. My uncle grew shocked at this and before anything Archie had stopped laughing long enough to see my look.

"Archie Andrews! Your a dead man!" I yelled playfully as I chased him all through the house.

"Your gonna get it for not saving me from Aunt Mary's iron grip hug!" I yelled as he laughed and ran from me. I decided to jump over the couch at him and tackled him. I then tickled him and gave him a nuggie. Aunt Mary and Uncle Fred were relieved that I was only joking around and that we were acting like we were 5 again. Aunt Mary explained to Uncle Fred about all of it, Archie surrendered, and we said good night as we went to bed.


	22. Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Twisted Youth!

*Aria's POV*

Just another day in Riverdale. I had gone on my dates with the boys and they were fun. I managed to sneak away from Aunt Mary before she could get me in a dress. I wasn't big on them. Make up was one thing a dress was another. For costumes and formal events I get. Anyways it was now Wednesday night, about a week after both Supreme Girl and the glob happened in our town, and it was super nice and warm outside. I went out to a hill top with Big Ethel and we looked at the stars when we noticed a meteor falling from the sky.

"Wow! Did you see that?" I asked her.

"Yeah! That was cool!" She said as I took out a small journal and recorded it.

"Cool doesn't even _begin_ to describe it! If a meteor fell close to here then this would be an amazing discovery!" I started as I tried to calculate where it could've fallen as I used the Riverdale map.

"You think so?" She asked as I nodded.

"Indeed. This could hold lifeforms or something amazing! And even not it' still a scientific discovery and an awesome souvenir. Plus the Riverdale museum might want it and if not I certainly do." I told her as I finished calculating.

"Where is it?" She asked me.

"Hm. Not sure. It could've landed anywhere around here." I told her.

"Do you wanna go look for it?" She asked me as I looked at her.

"You'd help me?" I asked her.

"Sure. It's no problem." She said as we went to look for it. We never found it and I sighed.

"Maybe I miscalculated." I said in disappointment.

"It's alright. I'm sure Dilton would be impressed either way." She said as I then went red.

"Wh-what?" I stuttered a question at that.

"Yeah. If you would've found it he would've been completely impressed by that." She said as I felt myself blush harder. BE kept trying to push me more towards Dilton because of her crush towards Jughead. I understood that but still.

"I-I wasn't doing this to impress him." I said as she laughed lightly.

"S _ure._ Then why are you turning red?" She asked in a teasing way.

"Because your teasing me." I told her. Soon we had a flashlight shined on us.

"What are you kids doing out here this late?" I heard a familiar voice as I blindly looked at him.

"Hello sheriff. We're sorry but we saw a meteor fall around this way and we were looking for it in the name of science." I explained to Sheriff Werewolf, I nicknamed him until I could remember his actual name, as he lowered his light.

"Miss Andrews. Miss Muggs. It's almost eleven at night. I suggest you two go home." He said to us.

"Oh cheese puffs it's eleven? My aunt and uncle are going to ground me." I panicked. I had yet to get grounded and didn't want to start now.

"Come on kids. I'll give you two a ride." He offered as he brought us to our homes. I was last and thanked the Sheriff as I got out of the car and got inside. The lights were off. Maybe I can.

"Aria Andrews." I heard my uncle say as the living room light click on. Busted.

*Morning Aria's POV*

"I can't believe I'm grounded!" I shouted while taking a different walking route with Archie and Jughead to school.

"Well that's what happens when you get home past curfew." Archie explained to me.

"Be lucky it's only until next week. I've dealt with longer." He told me as I sighed.

"But it's Thursday. That means four days." I grumbled as Archie sighed.

"What were you doing out there anyways?" Archie asked me.

"I told you BE and I saw a meteor fall from the sky and land somewhere but we didn't find it. I might have miscalculated but I know it landed around there." I said as I pointed to a different area where I swore it landed as Archie sighed.

"Your _really_ sticking with that story?" He asked me as I glared at him.

"Ask BE. She'll defend me. I'm not lying Arch." I told him. He knew I had no reason to lie.

"But then where is it?" Jughead asked me as his dog, Hot Dog, was following us. I pet the top of Hot Dog's head as I sighed.

"I'm not sure." I said as I stopped and looked at the lake. It was nice here.

"I'm still grounded so no weekend dates." I said as Jughead grumbled at that part.

"You didn't deserve it." He grumbled out as I giggled at his grumbling.

"Guys what is it with grown ups? They have all the freedom in the world and yet they spend all there time telling us what to do." Archie started as I just sighed.

"Or what _not_ to do." Jughead added in.

"Exactly! What's wrong with having a little fun now and then." Archie said as I lagged behind and smiled down at Hot Dog.

"Be lucky your a dog." I told him as he yawned and licked my hand. Thank goodness I was wearing my bangles instead of my fingerless gloves. I had decided to not wear my usual get up and wear my biker shorts and ankle boots with purple fishnets under them and my black tank top that I finally fixed. All the rips were still there but under it was a light purple sparkled fabric stitched with it so all the rips were showing that fabric. I had tuned out the boys bickering and watched Hot Dog fall into the water.

"Silly dog." I said as I got him out and moved before he shook water all over the place. It was then that I noticed him glowing.

"Guys! Hot Dog's glowing!" I said as they turned and saw he was glowing. In a blink of an eye he had turned into a puppy.

"What happened?" Jughead freaked.

"He fell in the water and this happened." I said as Puppy Hot Dog started bouncing around and wanted to play.

"Aw so cute." I said as he jumped on me, knocking me down, and gave me a bunch of kisses.

"Hey!" I said through my laughter. His kisses tickled.

"We should bring him to Dilton." I heard Archie say as I held hot dog and got up.

"Good idea." I said as hot dog wagged his tail and cuddled up to me.

"Aw.~ Your such an extra cuddly puppy. Oh yes you are. Yes you are." I started baby talking hot dog and seemed to love it. I kept doing this to keep him steady and close by, which worked long enough to sneak into 'Dilton's' Lab, and he happily wagged his tail and kissed me. Guess he really does like me. I ran into the lab first.

"Dilton! We have a problem!" I shouted, which scarred him since he almost dropped an empty beaker, and turned towards me.

"Aria! You know better than-Why do you have a puppy?" He asked me as he stopped the scolding. Archie and Jughead soon ran inside and joined me.

"It's Hot Dog! He turned into a puppy!" I exclaimed as hot dog jumped out of my arms and ran around the room.

"Something happened to him and he turned into a puppy. Help him!" Jughead exclaimed as I started chasing hot dog around. I had an idea. I laid down on my side and covered my face and made sob sounds. Hot Dog and the guys saw this. The guys were confused and hot dog ran up to see if I was okay.

"Gotcha!" I exclaimed when I grabbed him and brought him to Dilton.

"What? When dogs like people and see them crying or on the ground they tend to check and see if they're alright. It was a trick I learned in the city." I said as I pat hot dog and kept him still a bit. Dilton examined him for a moment.

"Give it to me straight! What's wrong with him?" Jughead asked.

"It appears Aria is correct. He's now a puppy." Dilton exclaimed as hot dog jumped in my arms and kissed me again.

"Oh no!" Jughead exclaimed while smacking his forehead.

"I like puppies! I never had one. He's so cute! Yes you are!" I said as I then started babying hot dog again. As the three were talking I was scratching hot dog's belly.

"Who's a good boy? You are. Yes you are." I spoke to him as he thoroughly enjoyed the belly rub.

"Aria!" Archie just about shouted in my ear.

"Ah! What?" I shouted at him after I screamed.

"We need to go to class." Archie said to me.

"Dilton are you going to check the lake?" I asked him.

"Yes why?" He replied and asked me.

"Then I'm going with you. Someone needs to keep an eye on hot dog and I think that meteor I was looking for ended up in the lake instead of near that path like I originally thought." I told him.

"But Aria-" Archie started before Dilton interrupted.

"She's right Archie. I can't look after hot dog _and_ try to figure this out. Plus if there _is_ a meteor in the water then she can help. Plus two geniuses are better than one." He defended me as I lightly blushed at him calling me a genius.

"Plus Hot Dog likes me." I added in.

"Alright." Archie said as Jughead kissed my cheek. I lightly eeped as he walked away.

"Take care of him for me. Oh and potty train him too." Jughead hollered as he left. On the way to the lake Hot Dog wanted to play so Dilton and I took turns throwing a stick for him to fetch. He was loving it.

"Thanks for letting me tag along Dilton." I said as I took the stick from hot dog and threw it really far for him.

"It's not a problem. Not only do we get to spend time together but we can figure this out faster with two great minds." He said as I blushed.

"Dilton you give me too much credit." I told him. He really did.

"Not really. You're very smart and full of wonder. It's a nice change of pace." He said as I blushed harder.

"I'm not as smart as you though." I told him. Him being smart was one of the reasons why I started falling for him. Jughead's love of food was one reason for him.

"Maybe not but you're quite close. That's great to. You'd make an excellent scientist one day." He told me as I smiled lightly at that. We soon reached the lake and Dilton took a sample while I distracted hot dog. He ended up jumping on me again and kissing me nonstop.

"Aria. I figured it out." He said as he gawked at hot dog kissing me.

"I think you have another rival!" I teased as I managed to get hot dog off me and threw the stick again.

"You were correct. It was the water. Hopefully this will stay contained." He said as I then thought about it.

"Dilton. Don't they use this water to make that new bottled water for the town only?" I asked as he grew wide eyed before smacking his forehead.

"Oh no! You're right!" He said as hot dog started to paw me.

"We need to work on a formula to reverse it before this grows out of control. Who knows who else it will effect." I said as we hurried to the lab. We headed back to school quickly while he explained to me what happened and, once inside, we ran into Archie and Jughead.

"Archie! We found out why the water changed hot dog." Dilton exclaimed.

"Yeah but-" Archie started but Dilton cut him off.

"It seems that Riverdale's lake water has reversed Hot Dog's age in a cellular lever." I smiled.

"It might have to do with the meteor I saw last night. If it fell in the water then Dilton and I can find it. Also we shouldn't drink any of the water bottles just in case it affects us." I added in while Archie groaned. Uh oh.

"Let me guess." I started off.

"Miss Grundy turned into a teenager." He started as I smacked my forehead.

"But of course." I muttered in a sarcastic tone. That's when we got bumped aside by two teenagers.

"Out of the way." The black haired one said.

"Yeah geeks." I heard the orange haired one say after.

"Hey!" I yelled at them.

"Sorry toots." I heard the black haired one say before they both chuckled.

"Why I ought a-wait? I don't remember them? They seem familiar though." I said as I heard them fight a bit and saw the water bottles.

"Oh no! They have the water!" I stated to the group.

"They must be adults in teenager form." Dilton said. We heard them talk about dead man's curve.

"Drag racing? Dead man's curve? They have to be mad men!" Dilton stated in worry.

"Why? What's so bad about Dead Man's Curve?" I asked in wonder. Not once had anyone mentioned it to me.

"It's a dangerous road that, if it the correct speed, can send you flying off the cliff ledge." Dilton said as I gasped in shock. Why would anyone race that? Just as they left and Veronica showed up.

"Someone has to stop my father and Principle Weatherbee. You're not going to believe what happened!" Veronica told us in a panic. That's why those two rude teens seemed familiar.

"Let me guess. They turned into teens and are going to drag race at Dead Man's Curve?" I asked her as she nodded.

"Yes. But how'd you know?" She asked as I pointed behind me.

"They just left. Your dad called me toots." I said in an annoyed voice. I then looked at Dilton.

"Dilton we should make a solution to reverse this quickly." I said as he nodded.

"Good idea." He said as I had another idea. I then decided to take a water and drink some.

"Aria Don't!" Jughead said but I already drank some. We waited but nothing happened.

"Huh? It seems to only work on adults." I stated as they all sighed with relief. Now we headed to the lab as Archie asked why.

"It seems that anyone under 18 is immune because of a growth hormone that means we're still growing. Adults don't have this anymore so they are affect by this." Dilton stated as I smiled at how smart he was.

*Concentrate!* I scolded to myself.

"It's kind of a good thing it doesn't work on us. We'd be in trouble." I said as I got a look from Archie.

"I'm not happy you did that." He said as I shrugged like it was no big deal. It wasn't really.

"Eh. All in the name of science." I stated simply.

"So how are we going to make this solution Dilton? We have to make sure it only affects the adults who got turned and not us." I asked and also pointed this fact out.

"Hm. Good question. Maybe if we make the formula to saturate their cells with a light intensely focused to the proper band of the light spectrum, then it could work without affecting us at all." Dilton said to us.

"In English please?" Veronica said as I sighed.

"Make a solution. Put it on light bulbs. Shine light on all the teens. Any adult turned into teens go back to adults while the rest of us stay immune to it." I told her in short sentences so she could understand it.

"Oh. How can you understand that?" She asked after she got it.

"Because Aria is a smart individual that people underestimate often." Dilton stated as I blushed.

"Yeah she's special." Jughead added in, making me blush harder, as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

"This better work before it spreads to all of Riverdale." Archie said as we got closer to our destination.

"It most likely did. I mean if you calculate how many water bottles are produced followed by the amount of adults and them at least having one bottle a day then all of Riverdale is most likely full of teenagers at this time. So if my theory is correct then we need to gather them all up in one place." I said to them as we looked outside and saw a few more adult drink the water and turn into teens.

"I hate it when I'm right." I muttered after they gasped.

"Oh no! They've _all_ turned into teenagers." Archie said in a panic as we looked and saw a fire truck speed of with teenagers driving it.

"Okay. Let's figure out how to gather them together while Dilton and I make the solution." I said as they looked at me.

"How do we do that?" Jughead asked as I sighed.

"We're teens Archie. If we throw a big party with free food and prizes to win then, if there acting like true teenagers, they'll fall for it. Just make it for tonight." I said as Archie and Jughead brightened up at that.

"Yeah! A party! You're right." Archie said in awe.

"Of course she's right Arch! She's smart and cool." Jughead said, holding me close to him, and making me blush. I felt Dilton pull me away as we walked back to the school, as he called for hot dog who showed up next to me after playing somewhere, and yelled back to them.

"Get them ready and rounded up and set up the school gym. Aria and I will get the formula started." I looked back at them and saw Jughead looked disappointed that I was pulled away.

"Set it for 8 o'clock! Be back in two hours so we can make sure it works!" I yelled back as I followed Dilton to his lab. Once we got there I saw him get started as I sighed.

"I know you get jealous of Jughead at times and I know we need to work on the formula but that was a bit rude. Don't you agree?" I asked him in reference to him pulling me away from Jughead as Dilton sighed.

"Maybe. But we don't have much time for flirting. We have bigger things to worry about." Dilton said as he tried to cover his tracks with logic. I sighed and began helping him out. I had to stop and play with Hot Dog a few times as he kept kissing me. The others showed up early and saw hot dog had me on the floor and was kissing me.

"Ack! Hot Dog! I get it!" I yelped as I found a ruler and threw it for him to fetch. Jughead helped me up as Archie and Veronica brought back light bulbs to use in the gym.

"Thanks." I muttered as I wiped my face off and let Jughead play with him for a bit. I decided to help Dilton a bit more and soon we finished it.

"Eureka!" Dilton shouted.

"Show us." Archie said as he appeared next to me. Dilton pulled out an ordinary light bulb.

"Uh Dilton. Thomas Edison invented that already." Archie said as I giggled.

"Ah! But let me continue." He said as he dipped it into the solution.

"Once emitted into the solution-" Dilton started.

"Let me explain it in simpler terms for them." I cut in as Dilton realized why.

"Go ahead." He said as I smiled.

"Basically once dipped in the formulated solution you see here, again why I said bring the light bulbs, it can be turned on and then age the living thing that was once old turned young by the water. It won't effect us, even after drinking the water, because we were unaffected by the water in the first place." I explained simply as they awed in happiness over that.

"Now to test it." Dilton said as he finished putting the bulb in the lamp.

"Please! Test it out before my arm falls off! I've been doing this for 30 minutes." Jughead said as I sighed.

"Jughead. I've been helping all day." I said as I went over and grabbed Hot Dog. "Let's go buddy." I said as he kissed me again.

"Ack! Okay! I get it!" I said as I went over to where the light would shine.

"Let's test it out." I said as Dilton turned on the light. I felt warm from it but was unaffected by it. Unfortunately hot dog was and, since I was still holding him, fell with him asleep and snoring on me.

"It worked. He's normal. Help!" I said as I tried to push him off me. Archie and Jughead soon helped get him off me and helped me up.

"Thanks." I said as I wiped my clothes off. We started to set up and while Dilton and I used it on all the bulbs in the gym Archie, Jughead, and Veronica got all the stuff for the party and made sure everyone showed up. Soon the gym was filled with teenagers. We turned on the lights just as I saw Reggie dancing with a pretty young blonde. Soon though she turned into Miss Grundy. I was laughing so hard because I had seen her flirting with him earlier. Who knew Reggie was her type. I then saw her scolding him and laughed harder.

"Reggie is now scarred for life!" I laughed out.

"Guys! Help! I couldn't convince my dad and Principle Weatherbee to come! They're still going to race!" Veronica said as I gasped.

"Teenagers. Dilton! Do you still have any of that solution left?" Archie asked him as Dilton thought about it.

"If your thinking what I think your thinking then yes. We should have enough for the headlight on your car." I said as Dilton agreed. We then used the solution on the headlights and Veronica and Archie quickly drove to Dead Man's Curve. Dilton and I had to properly dispose of the left over solution and explain to the adults what happened. Jughead helped and then we went to the lake to fetch the meteor. We pulled it out of the lake and, after Dilton put it in a small box to send to the Smithsonian under both our names, used the watered out solution, non poisoning and won't dye that water, to help even out the 'fountain of youth' effect. It would take about a week but it would work out nicely.

"I'm glad thats done and over with." I said with relief as we walked to my house. Dilton suddenly kissed my cheek. I eeped and looked at him.

"You were such a big help. You have no idea how much faster we got this taken care of because of you." He said as I blushed lightly. I didn't notice Uncle Fred watching me from the window.

"I should go inside. Almost curfew time." I said as I sighed.

"It'll get better." He said as I smiled at him. We ended up hugging before I turned, looked at him waving goodbye as he did the same, and walked inside.

"Aria." I heard my uncle call me. I sighed and went into the living room.

"Uncle Fred I'm not late. And Dilton walked me home to make sure I was fine! We found the meteor and are sending it to the Smithsonian. I swear!" I yelped out when I saw him look at me.

"That's not it at all. I wanted to talk to you." He said as I sighed. Uncle Fred and I talked and he agreed that he would un-ground me on Sunday if I helped him with yard work and cleaning the gutters on Saturday. I agreed to that and after talking to him went upstairs to bed. Archie and I would write the article tomorrow after we gathered up notes from everyone.

*Next day Aria's POV*

It was morning and all was well. Thank goodness. I was tired. Everyone being teens was tough. It's all over with now. I had talked to Dilton and Jughead that I would be un-grounded on Sunday so if all three of us wanted to do something together we could. They were happy to hear that and we made a plan for Pop's for burgers and stuff. At the end of the day Archie and I had gotten ready for bed before typing up the article.

"Turns out Aria was right about a meteor landing in Riverdale. ~Archie. I told you. I was just wrong on where it landed. Well alls well that ends well. ~Aria. Except for poor Veronica, whose stuck driving her father around until he gets his driving privileges back. Funny. When the judge threw the book on Mister Lodge and Principle Weatherbee for reckless driving, he said they should learn to act their age. ~Archie. But as we all now know acting your age isn't always the easiest thing to do. ~Aria. …...In a little town called Riverdale! ~Archie and Aria." We finished typing it up and I immediately went to bed. I didn't want to think about my relationship with both boys right now. I didn't want to think about summer coming up. I didn't want to think of anything except sleep.


	23. Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Mega-Mall Of Horrors!

*Aria's POV*

It had been a week since the adults got turned into teens and the water had been thoroughly cleaned out. I consulted with Archie that I was worried that there would be a delayed reaction with this and listed off the possibilities like aliens or mutated creatures or even monsters discovering this small town. He told me everything would be fine. I had no idea I was right as within the night a giant mall had soon appeared.

*Morning Aria's POV*

"Archie!~" I whined, as he had stolen another fry from my plate, as I slapped him away. I was meeting Jughead here at Pop's and Archie was stealing my food.

"What?" He asked me innocently. That's when Betty and Veronica showed up.

"Stop stealing my food!" I yelled. It was dead here today since everyone got out of school. When Reggie showed up Archie took a hand full and ran near him.

"Archie!~ Stop it!~" I whined as I began pouting as I stood up. That's when I felt arms wrap around me.

"You look cute when you pout." I heard Jughead say as he lightly kissed my cheek. I eeped from that and turned red.

"Please! For the love of Pops Burgers don't sneak up on me!" I said as I held my hand to where my heart was and tried to calm down from the mild heart attack I almost suffered.

"Sorry. It's cute when you make that sound too." He said as he kissed my cheek again and, again, made me eep. I jump out of his arms and glared at him.

"Your getting to be mischievous." I told him as he just smiled.

"Who? Me?" He replied in a cocky way as I sighed. Before Archie could steal another handful I grabbed him and pushed my body against his to flip him over me and onto his back.

"Oof." He said as I leaned over him and smiled.

"I told you!" I said with a smile as I popped a fry in my mouth. Pops soon came out and saw him on the floor.

"Get your own Arch." I said with a smile as Jughead and I sat next to each other and I began eating more of my fries. I didn't order burgers yet because I wanted to wait for Jughead.

"No burgers?" Jughead asked in shock.

"Waited for you." I said as Pops put a huge tray in front of us.

"You two are the best." Jughead said, referring to me and Pops, as Archie and the gang started talking about the new mall that showed up. We both weren't interested that much but they were and, in the end, we decided to go check it out later. They got there own booth while Jughead and I continued to eat. Jughead had made a cute little speech about the burgers and I joined him. We both made Pops cry out of happiness and soon we finished our food. I was starting to pull out my cash when Jughead stopped me.

"I got it." He said, which shocked me since he rarely ever pays with his own money and for anyone other than himself, as I shook my head.

"No it's okay. I asked you to meet me here and I ordered for us. I got it." I said as he then took the bill and ran straight to Pops. My jaw dropped.

"Jughead Jones I said I would pay!" I yelled at him. I guess not only him paying for the both of us shocked Pops but the others as well because I heard an oof followed by a small thud. I looked over and saw Archie and Reggie on the floor with shocked looks on their faces.

"Jughead!" Reggie said.

"Paying?" Archie said soon after as Jughead showed up next to me.

"I said next time would be my treat. Besides you almost always treat me. It's my turn." He said as the group yelled huh. I sighed and lightly shook my head as I then looked at him with a smile on my face.

"Alright. You win this time." I told him as I stood up. Soon we all hopped in Archie's car, we got Reggie to sit in the front with Archie and I sat on Jughead's lap, and drove off to Mallhala. Everyone seemed Impressed by it except me and Jughead. Don't get me wrong I do like the mall but this one is huge compared to the small one. I usually like small stores and the classic mom and pop places. A huge mall like this wasn't all to swell for me. Jughead seemed to agree with me on that one. We went inside and it looked even bigger in here. All the kids were shopping, eating, talking and walking around. Even parents with kids roaming around here.

"There's got to be every kind of store there is in here." Betty commented while I sighed.

"There's just one problem." Archie said as we all stopped and looked at him.

"I'm broke." Archie added as I sighed again

"Me too. The babysitting business has crawled to a stand still lately" Betty added in.

"Don't look at me. My allowance has left the building." Reggie said.

"Daddy took away all my credit cards." Veronica added in.

"Went over the limit again?" I asked her.

"Not by much." She said as I rolled my eyes. Not by much meant a lot.

"I'm broke too. I just used most of my money at Pop's" Jughead said as I gaped.

"Jughead. I said I could cover it." I told him. He just shook his head.

"I wanted to though." He said as Archie then looked at me.

"I have some but I'm not going crazy." I said flatly. Man did I need a job. That's when we saw something rise from the floor. It looked like a small pillar but it opened to reveal a man in a booth. I blinked and rubbed my eyes as the man turned to us.

*Strange. I thought his reflection was different. I must be imagining things.* I thought as the man smiled at us.

"I couldn't help but overhear. Allow me to introduce Myself." The pudgy man said as he then spun his name plate around for us to see.

"Calvin Johnny Avarichi. General Manager of Mallhala. So you're the manager?" I read and then asked. I didn't like the looks of this guy. He screamed greed.

"Indeed. And that puts me in the unique position to help you out of your financial predicament." He said while rubbing his thin mustache. Yup. He screamed money grubber and untrustworthy.

"You're going to validate our parking?" Jughead asked as I giggled.

"Jughead the parking was free." I pointed out as I giggled a bit more.

"Oh yeah." He muttered.

"What I offer are these." He said and as he snapped his fingers 6 gold cards soon appeared.

"These are Mallhala gold cards. They're good in any of our stores here. Go ahead take one. They say money can't buy happiness. But these cards sure can." He said as I looked at him funny.

*I'm seriously not liking this at all.* I thought to myself.

"Mister. You've got a deal." Reggie said as he took a card. Suddenly his name appeared on the card.

"Hey! My names already on it." Reggie said as I gawked.

*Yeah I don't like this. We didn't even tell him our names.* I thought.

"As the manager I make it a point to know _all_ of my customers." He said with a wicked smile.

"I don't like this." I muttered next to Jughead.

"Neither do I." Jughead whispered back to me. He soon handed out the cards to them.

"Oh. And let's not forget Aria Andrews." He said as he handed me a card. I skeptically took it.

"So there free? What's the catch. I know in life you can't get something for nothing. So what's the catch?" I questioned him harshly.

"Aria. Don't be so harsh." Archie scolded. I just rolled my eyes.

"No no. She's right. There is a small catch. I just request that when the card reaches it's limit that you pay it back. Simple as that." He said with a smile as I looked at him.

"How do you know we'll pay you back?" Archie asked skeptically.

"The patrons off Mallhala _always_ pay back." He said with another wicked smile. I definitely don't trust him. Not at all.

"Now go. Get what you deserve. Go. Buy." He said as the door closed and the small pillar sunk back into the ground.

"Well I'm not using mine. I don't trust him." I said as Archie rolled his eyes.

"That's just the city in you talking and being cautious." Archie said as I tapped my foot and had my hands on my hips.

"So what? It's done good for me so far." I scolded before Jughead wrapped his arms around me to comfort me.

"It's fine Aria. You don't have to buy anything if you don't want to." Jughead comforted me as I sighed.

"Holy hunka moly!" Reggie suddenly said as we looked to see him gawking at a helmet.

"He wants it." I mumbled as I looked at Jughead.

"Can we just walk around?" I asked him as Archie, Betty and Veronica went to Reggie.

"Sure. It's better than standing around doing nothing." He said as we ditched them and walked around. I saw a couple stores I liked but I refused to go in them.

"Hey Aria. I know we just went past a few stores that you'd like. Why not go in?" He asked me.

"Because I don't want to be tempted into buying anything I won't really need." I told him as we continued. After about 3 hours of walking, sitting, and chatting Archie came up to us.

"Aria you missed it. There's a store that sells different supernatural stuff. Look at this." Archie said as he sat down next to me and showed me a book.

"An ancient street atlas to the lost city of Atlantis? Really?" I questioned him on his find.

"Hey it's for the article." He told me as I rolled my eyes. Then veronica showed up.

"Well I bought this expensive designer sweater. Luckily it came in the color I look best it. All of them." She stated as she showed us all the different colored sweaters she bought. Then Betty showed up with a backpack.

"I got this earth friendly backpack. It's made of tree bark. When it wears out you feed it to an elephant." She said in a happy tone.

"Betty there are no elephants here except the zoo and I don't think they'll let you feed that to them." I pointed out as she pouted.

"If you're all done throwing your money away can we go home now?" Jughead said as I nodded.

"Yes I agree. It's boring here." I said as I then yawned. I was tired.

"Well I'm not going to let Jughead and Aria ruin my shopping spirit. We're helping the economy. So lets help it some more and come back tomorrow." Veronica said as Archie, Jughead and I rose from our seats.

"No. Helping the economy is helping small shop owners like Pop Tate's." I said as she huffed at me. We were close to the entrance when I thought of something.

"Hey wait! I think we're forgetting someone." I said suddenly. Then we heard weird music and my mind went blank.

"Who are we missing?" Archie asked me. I shook my head.

"I-I don't know. Let me count." I said as I counted Archie, Jughead, Me, Betty and Veronica.

"No. Nevermind. It was just the 5 of us. Weird though." I said as we then left the mall. I ended up sitting up front with Archie instead of Jughead's lap.

*Why was I sitting on his lap when there was enough room for all of us?* I thought as Archie dropped everyone off, Jughead kissing my cheek, and we went inside to sleep. I tossed and turned a bit as I heard weird music in my sleep.

*Two weeks later Aria's POV*

We were sitting and eating lunch. May was almost over. Something felt so off in Riverdale high and I wasn't too sure why. I felt like it had something to do with the mall but I couldn't figure out what.

"Does anyone notice anything weird going on here?" Archie suddenly said as I perked up.

"Archie-kins. Whatever do you mean?" Veronica asked. "Just look around." Archie said and so we did. Everyone had new looks and something shiny to show off. Even BE. She bought an outfit similar to her red one except it was in a royal blue with an ice blue top.

"By weird do you mean that since Mallhala opened 2 weeks ago we have the best dressed students in the county? Or that there's more electronic gear here than NASA." Jughead said as I saw Dilton heading this way with a new robot he bought. He insisted on buying it instead of making one which was foolish.

"No. That I get." Archie said.

"Is it the fact that the school seems like it's not as full of teens as we thought?" I asked out of the blue.

"Yeah. There are a lot of empty seats in the classrooms." Jughead pointed out.

"And there seems to be fewer students in the hallways." Betty also pointed out.

"It all feels weird." I said as Dilton came over and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I decided to pull away from them to talk to Dilton alone.

"Salutations Aria. Would you like to go to Mallhala with me? They have a new robot I wish to buy." He said as I shook my head.

"No. I'd rather take the time to make one." I told him.

"But with Mallhala there's no need to make one when you can buy one." He told me. I couldn't believe it.

"Dilton. The point of making any type of invention is to, not only feel the satisfaction but to also, claim it as yours and yours alone. You of all people know that." I said. I suddenly heard that strange music again but it only lasted 5 seconds.

"So what? Building them is stupid. I'd rather buy one." He told me as I gawked at that.

"Dilton. You've changed. I miss spending time with you in the lab. Go spend time with your precious Mallhala." I said as I walked away from him.

"That's fine with me." He shouted back as I went over and sat next to Jughead.

"You okay?" Jughead asked me as I shook my head and sighed.

"Dilton would rather _buy_ the inventions then _make_ them. I miss building and creating things with him. All he cares about is Mallhala." I said with a sigh.

"Yeah. These guys want to go back." Jughead muttered as I sighed again.

"It's amazing how we're the only ones not to buy things." I said as he pulled me closer to him.

"Yeah I know." He said to me. Now it was the end of the school day and we were heading down to Mallhala. I sat in the back with Betty and Jughead as I curled up to him a bit.

"So. You two going to finally buy something at the mall?" Betty asks us.

"Not until I find something I-Hey Archie! Pull over!" Jughead started saying but then cut himself off and now we pulled over. I looked and saw we were at Pop's.

"Pops. Hey long time no see." Jughead said as he got out of the car.

"Hey Pops." I greeted as I joined him. We hadn't been to Pop's in ages because of us being dragged to Mallhala a lot.

"Well hey kids. Where've ya been? Come on, I'll fix you up some burgers." Pops said and boy did that sound good.

"No can do Pops. We're going to Mallhala." Archie said as I sighed.

"Pfft. Mallhala. That darn mall. It's stealing away all the customers from the local stores." He said as I noticed a lot of closed down stores. I just sighed. This was depressing.

"Gee. I'd really like a burger." Jughead said.

"Me too." I added in when we heard that strange music again. It only lasted a few seconds but now I suddenly changed my mind.

"We have to go to Mallhala." Archie suddenly said as I sighed again.

"Sorry Pops." I said as I gave him an apologetic look before Jughead and I got back in the car. Soon we were off. I could tell Pops was hurt by that. We were soon there and I decided to follow Archie and Jughead.

"You sure you don't want to go with the girls?" Archie asked me as I shook my head.

"I'm sure. Being with Jughead helps prevent me from buying things I don't really need." I said as Jughead pulled me closer to his side with his arm around my waist.

"And besides that I don't need Veronica pressuring me on buying clothes again." I said with a sigh. I did need new clothes but I decided to wait a little bit. We went up the escalator and, before we knew it, something caught Archie's eye.

"Oh Wow! A mummy's scarab! Gotta have it!" Archie yelled in excitement and zoomed off to the store. I tugged on Jughead's sleeve and motioned to a spot to sit. He nodded and guided me over to the concrete bench to sit and talk.

"Jughead this seems weird. I'm not sure why but I feel like something is wrong. Like my memory is acting up or something. I feel like I've seen these mannequins around school before." I said as he looked at me funny.

"You think I'm crazy huh?" I asked him.

"I don't think that. Maybe being here too much is making you see things or dream of it." Jughead said as I sighed.

"Perhaps your right." I said as I looked at him with a weak smile. After a few hours Archie and Veronica showed up where we were.

"Yet another shopping conquest. Thank you Mallhala for letting me be all that I can be." Veronica bragged and boasted as I rolled my eyes.

"And I got another mummy's scarab. Now I have three dozen!" Archie bragged. Jughead and I stood up and agreed this was too much.

"More stuff and nonsense." Jughead nearly yelled as he covered his ears and had a look of annoyance.

"I agree. This is too much. You really don't need all this stuff. If I can handle going without then why can't you? I seriously don't trust this place nor these stupid gold cards. I know something is wrong and all you can do is shop shop shop!" I nearly yelled myself. This was too much.

"If you're done can we get out of here?" Jughead said as him and I started to walk away.

"You know you two might actually enjoy these shopping trips a bit more if you actually went shopping instead of sitting around and not buying a thing." Veronica said to us. My blood was boiling and Jughead knew that. He pulled me close to him and spoke before I could.

"You two do enough without our help." Jughead scolded. We didn't even bother looking at them as we waited for them to hurry up.

"Wait. I'm getting the feeling we're forgetting someone again." I suddenly voiced my thought before we heard that strange hypnotic music a few seconds before my mind drew a blank again.

"No. We're all here." Archie said as I looked at him and Veronica before I shrugged.

"I guess I'm tired." I said with a small shrug.

"Archie. Look at that mannequin over at that window." Veronica pointed out as I finally noticed it.

*It seems familiar. But that couldn't be. This is the first time I've seen this mannequin displayed. I think.* I thought to myself as I looked at it. It was a female with blonde hair in a ponytail, blue eyes, and wearing a white top with a sweater, skirt, and pumps in red. It looked so familiar. Archie followed Veronica over to it and in a blink of an eye she ran in the store. Archie came over to us.

"She said she'll be right back." Archie said as Jughead and I sighed.

"She better hurry." I said as I grew annoyed. Ten minutes passed by and I was losing patients. I wanted to go home.

"Man how long is this going to take?" Archie asked as he became impatient.

"Yeah. How long?" Jughead asked before we then heard that weird music again.

"Archie? What are we waiting for?" Jughead suddenly asked. I was wondering that too.

"You know. We're waiting for." He stopped as he then shook his head. That music was annoying.

"Aria? I thought you wanted to go in?" Archie asked as I snapped out of my daze.

"No. I don't recall wanting to go into that store." I said as I grew confused.

"Let's go then." Archie said as we walked away. I felt like something was off but didn't know what exactly.

*End of May Aria's POV*

It was now 3 weeks since Mallhala opened as Archie, Jughead and I roamed the school.

"I had the nicest dream last night." Archie started off talking to us as we headed to class.

"I dreamed I went to a normal high school. You know one that actually had some students in it. Like Aria's old school." Archie said as I sighed.

"Again with this." I said as he continued.

"It was nice. There were more students than teachers. And there were these two gorgeous girls, one a blonde and another a raven haired girl, and they both loved me and I got to date both of them." Archie said.

"Sounds like my dream. Except Jughead had a rival who was smart and always invented things. He'd let me help. And there were 6 guys in music class who fawned over me. But I told them I wanted to be friends and they were okay with that." I said as Jughead pulled me over to him and kissed my cheek.

"What? I'm not enough for you?" He asked me teasingly as I blushed.

"N-no. You are." I said as he smiled at me.

"This is probably why my parents sent me here. Because there's no other kids to interact with." I said as I got slightly upset about that. My dream consisted of many friends and two boyfriends.

"Say Arch. Why do you suppose they built all these classrooms and lockers if there aren't any kids to use them except us?" Jughead suddenly asked.

"It's because. Because. Because." He started saying but his words were getting soft as we heard that music again for just a few seconds.

"How would I know? Say! There's someplace I want to go to after school." Archie said as Jughead and I sighed.

"Mallhala?" I asked as Archie had the biggest dopiest grin on his face. We both sighed and agreed to go. Jughead and I never bought anything though. Once school was over we went to Mallhala and Archie immediately went to his favorite store while Jughead and I lingered very very **very** far behind.

"Jughead I don't like this. I still feel off here." I told him as he held me close.

"It's alright I'm here." He said as we went up the escalator and headed to the store my cousin went into.

"I'm here to protect you. And so is. So is." He started before we heard that hypnotic music again before it stopped.

"Jughead? Why are we in front of this store?" I questioned him.

"I'm not sure." He mumbled before we saw a mannequin with orange hair and freckles in a wizard outfit.

"Ah! That's that's!" I shrieked and started to say before that hypnotic music played again.

"The ugliest hat you've ever seen right?" Jughead asked when the music stopped. I shook my head and looked at the mannequin again.

"Yeah. It is." I mumbled before we were both grabbed. We looked over and saw Mr. Avarichi was the one who grabbed us.

"Jughead Jones and Aria Andrews. Come with me." He said as I looked at him warily. I seriously didn't trust him at all. Needless to say we followed him as he stood between us and wrapped and arm around our shoulders. I didn't know why but I hated it when someone I didn't like did that. But he was the only one I didn't like who's done that. Right?

"You know, out of all my customers, your the only two I've failed to reach. In all your trips neither of you have bought a single thing." He said to us.

"There's just nothing that I want." Jughead said.

"Same here. I just don't want anything that comes at a heavy expense." I said as I directed that toward him. He looked at me a little funny. I think he knew I didn't trust him and his gold cards one bit. He then smiled and looked at the both of us.

"Until now." He said as he brought us both to a buffet. Now I'm not a glutton but man did this food look good. And I never really ate much at my parents house so yeah. I was drooling a little bit. I peeked over at Jughead and saw him licking his lips and drooling. He was talking about all the different foreign foods as Jughead then handed him his card and started filling his plate up. I loved how Jughead got with food but I was skeptical.

"Well? Will you join your boyfriend?" He asked me as Jughead waved me over to a food station. I sighed and gave him my card.

"If Jughead wants this and enjoys it then I won't fight." I said as he took my card and I filled up my plate as well. We both sat down and I looked at him. He saw the worried look on my face.

"Are you alright?" He asked me as I shrugged.

"Eh. Food makes you happy. I'm willing to use my card with you to be happy." I said as I faintly smiled at him. He got ready to eat before.

"Jughead. Aria." We heard a sad voice as we looked and saw Pops at the entrance slowly walking towards us.

"Pops?" I questioned. I didn't like that he was sad.

"Pops? What are you doing here?" Jughead asked.

"I brought you two something." He said as he came over to us and looked at both of us with a weak smile. I tilted my head in curiosity. He then held up two paper bags and handed them to us while talking.

"There the last two hamburgers I'll ever make. It's only right that you two should have them." He said as we took the burgers out of the bags and looked at them before looking at him.

"What?" I questioned in shock. The last ones he'll ever make?

"Thanks to this darn mall I've lost all my customers. The chocolate shoppe's going out of business." He said as he looked down in sadness. I stood next to Jughead, both of us holding a burger from him, as we both tried not to cry.

"But-but. You can't. The Chocolate Shoppe's my favorite place. _Our_ favorite place." I said as a couple tears fell from my eyes. This was probably the saddest I've felt in so long.

"Pops that's terrible." Jughead said as we both wiped the tears fro our faces. That's when Mr. Avarichi grabbed Pops shoulders.

"That's progress old bean." Mr. Avarichi said before he turned him around and started to lead him out of the place.

"Now run along." He told Pops.

"Hey! Leave him alone." Jughead yelled.

"Yeah. He did nothing wrong." I yelled at him as well.

"It's okay. I have to go. The other store owners are throwing me a going out of business party. Mark my words, Thanks to Mallhala, It won't be the last." Pops said as he started to walk away. I looked at the burger and then went to Mr. Avarichi and took my card back from him.

"I'm not doing business here." I stated as he gawked at me. I had also grabbed Jughead's without him noticing because I had a feeling he felt the same way I did.

"What a shame. Your missing out." He said as he went over to Jughead. He lifted Jughead's chin and looked at him.

"Don't let that sob story ruin your appetite. Maybe if you eat your girlfriend will change her mind. After all you're both growing teens. Look! Fast food from the four corners of the earth." He said as that weird music began to play again. I looked at the yummy food and went over to Jughead as Mr. Avarichi was telling him to buy, eat and buy some more. I wanted to taste the food in front of me and Jughead but then looked at the burger I held.

*I-I. I can't!* I thought as I handed Jughead his card.

"I can't! Pops burgers are the best. No fancy food nor other food places will ever change that." I said loud enough for them to hear as I bit into Pop's burger. Oh man was this good. Jughead saw this and pushed the food away from him as he then grabbed his burger.

"She's right. See this burger? This is all thats right in the world." He started his speech as I paused half way through my burger to hear him speak.

"It's smothered in ketchup and served with a pickle. Except Aria's. She hates pickles." He said as he picked up the burger.

"True that." I said as Jughead took a bite before continuing.

"Everytime we both take a bite of this burger. *Munch Munch* We're both reminded of the blessings, *Munch Munch* Friendship, *Munch Munch* Our relationship, *Munch Munch Munch* Small town values, *Munch* And for me onion slices." He said as he took one final bite of his burger as I followed suit.

"We don't want none of your fancy shmancy food." He said as I stood next to him as we both held our cards in front of him.

"And this is what we think of your mall!" I shouted as we ripped the cards up in front of him. Man that felt good. Soon we heard booming sounds as we saw the speakers had blown up. I looked at Mr. Avarichi and gasped. He turned green.

"No!~" He screamed as he suddenly started turning into green goo and screaming in agony.

"Oh my glob!" I screeched as I clung onto Jughead. Yeah I still haven't gotten completely over the Tapioca glob thing so globs kinda freaked me out a bit. Not as much but seeing as this was once a person was going to scar me for life.

"Look what you've done!" He said as he really melted to a glob puddle.

"Our friends. They've all been turned to dummies! By you!" Jughead realized and pointed the blame on him.

"If you weren't a pile of goo I'd kick your sorry excuse of a butt for turning my cousin, other boyfriend, and friends into mannequins for your shops!" I screamed. I was fuming now.

"Your defiances have broken the spell. The town will soon remember it's missing teens." He said as now a puddle was formed and it was steaming.

"What? What are you?" Jughead asked in shock.

"The most selfish shopoholic that ever lived. When I had no money left I sold my soul for more, more, more! Always more! Now I'm bound to this mall and forced to corrupt the innocents or force to pay the ultimate bill. Myself!" He said as I actually felt bad for him.

"I feel kinda bad for you but this is what you get for your greed so you deserve it." I told him while I put my hands on my hips and lowered myself a bit to look at him better.

"Well your not going to use my pals to settle your debt." Jughead said. Then we gasped as the smoke and sludge suddenly turned into a green creature, like a dinosaur, with sharp claws and long sharp teeth.

"The reflection I saw! It wasn't my imagination!" I said out loud as I was trying not to panic. He looked scary and dangerous alright? Oi. He started coming right for us.

"Oh no? Like an overdue bill I won't go away!" He snarled as we backed up to the table. Jughead grabbed one tray and I grabbed the other as we then smashed them in his face and made a run for it.

"You go to Archie. I'll get Betty and Ronnie." I said to him.

"Right." He agreed as we split up. I was at the store where I saw both of them and I looked for their cards. I had a hunch it had something to do with them. I found Betty's and ripped it up.

"Aria! My hero!" Betty said, after returning to normal, as she grabbed Veronica's card and ripped it up. She too was returned to normal.

"You rescued me. Wish you were Archie though so we could kiss." She said as I rolled my eyes. Then we heard something. I grabbed them and hid them with me in the clothing rack. I saw Mr. Avarichi looking for me and Jughead.

"Shoot. You two stay here. When I lure him away start ripping up everyone else's cards." I told them. Before they can protest I ran out and was now behind the green monster.

"Hey Avarichi! Over here!" I said as he turned and saw me.

"Nya nya! Can't catch me!" I yelled as I made a run for it.

"I'll have you yet you stubborn teen!" He yelled as he soon chased me. He was faster than I thought.

*I have to get him to chase me somewhere for me to trap him.* I thought as I tried to think of where to go. I ran into a store just as he was about to grab me. I jumped by a random clothing rack and managed to get him stuck. I ran out and bumped into Jughead.

"Jughead!" I yelped as I hugged him.

"You okay?" He asked me.

"He's behind me." I said as we looked around the corner and see himself get unstuck.

"Help the others out. I'll distract him. And no arguing." He told me as I nodded yes and did what he asked me to do. I ripped up a few cards and told them to go to the exit. I soon found Dilton and ripped his card up.

"Aria!" He said as he hugged me.

"Later. We need to go." I said as we headed for the exit. I saw Avarichi and Jughead and I hid in a bush. Once I saw Avarichi grab Jughead's ankle I ran out and jumped on his back.

"Let go of one of my boyfriends you green creep!" I yelled as he let go of Jughead and struggled to get me off. I barely flipped over him and made him flip over me to the ground as I bolted out the door. When he got up and went to get us the doors closed and sealed him in the mall.

"No! Come back kids! I'll give you things you want!" He screeched as I looked at him.

"We don't want any." I said as I backed up a bit. The mall started crumbling.

"Run for it!" I yelled as we ran out of the way and watched the mall collapse into the ground and disappear from sight.

"See Archie? I told you that Meteor had a delay effect of bringing something to this town thanks to it's disturbance." I said with a cheeky grin.

"Yeah yeah. You were right." He said as I smiled brighter at that.

"I guess Mr. Avarichi's the manger of a mall underground." Jughead pointed out.

"Way way underground." I added in ad we all lightly laughed.

"Yeah. And if we don't get greedy maybe he'll stay there." Archie pointed out.

"Who's up for Pops?" I questioned as we all agreed. Now a lot of teens were at Pop's and he couldn't be happier. Jughead and I sat at one booth while Archie, Reggie, Veronica and Betty sat at another.

"Wow Pops. Looks like you're back in business." Archie commented when Pops gave them a plate of burgers.

"Business is _booming_ thanks to the return of you kids." He said with a smile as he brought over a plate piled high with burgers on it for me and Jughead.

"Especially with the return of my 2 best customers." He added as Jughead and I dug in.

"Thanks Pops. If you hadn't given me and Jughead a burger then we would've suffered the same fate." I said as I finished one burger and started a second one.

"Well I felt you two deserved it!" He said as we smiled at him.

"Don't worry about the bill guys. We got it." Archie said as the three others agreed. I smiled and kept eating.

"Aria?" I heard as I looked over at Dilton.

"May I please join you?" He asked as I smiled.

"Of course." I said as Jughead eyed him warily.

"I wanted to apologize for how I was acting. You were right. Building _is_ more satisfying then buying." He said as he started eating his burger. I smiled at him.

"It wasn't your fault. Avarichi's spell brought greed out to a lot of the teens here." I said as I ate another burger.

"But why weren't you affected?" Dilton asked me.

"I grew up having very little remember? My parents didn't give me an allowance or bought me many things. I had to earn them with small odd jobs in the city. I've learned you can't get something for nothing. Everything has a price. When I came here things changed. I made friends, get an allowance and sometimes get treats. I've just learned to appreciate what I have instead of wanting more." I said as I started my 7th burger.

"Understandable." Dilton said to me.

"Yeah. I've learned money cant buy happiness but it can get me Pops amazing burgers. *Munch munch munch* And those are one of the things that make me happy." Jughead said as I giggled at that.

"Jughead helped me not to buy anything I didn't need. If not for him then I might've bought something I needed and ended up a victim as well." I said with a small smile. We ate and chatted a bit more before Archie said it was time to go. I kissed Dilton and Jughead on the cheek and said goodbye to them as Archie an I Headed home. School was almost over and I was determined to get a summer job and not goof around a lot. When we got home we decided to work on the article.

"It's hard to believe it was Pop's burgers that ended our reckless shopping spree. ~Archie. Not really. For Jughead and myself it made a lot of sense. ~Aria. It also reminded us all that a little shopping is fine as long as you don't get carried away. After all you can't buy the things that are most important in life. ~Archie. Yes food, clothes, a house and a car are important but he means other things like the loyalty and friendships you find. ~Aria. ….In a little town called Riverdale. ~Archie and Aria." We finished typing the article as I stretched and yawned.

"I'm going to bed." I told Archie.

"Alright. Goodnight." He said as he hugged me. I hugged him back and said goodnight as I went to my room to try and rest. Tomorrow I was going to look for a job for the summer. Even if it was odd jobs here and there. Maybe when the babysitting business booms again Betty will let me help her out. I wanted a car and from the moment I got here and saved up a good part of my allowance I had $600 saved up. If I did odd jobs and continued with my allowance then maybe I can ask Uncle Fred to help me pay for half of it if I get a classic like Archie had. Maybe. I'll talk to him about it soon. For now I just curled under my sheet and fell asleep to the warm Friday night.


	24. Chapter 23

Chapter 23: Attack Of The 50-Ft Veronica!

*Aria's POV*

Wow. The time went by fast. It felt like yesterday that I got on the plane too leave the city and go live with Archie, Aunt Mary and Uncle Fred in Riverdale and now here we are. I got through sophomore year! Well almost. I was in my last class and there was ten minute left before summer break. Hurry up!The other reason why I want class to end is because I'm meeting Dilton in the lab after this so we can finish and then Archie can do his interview. Now I know it's Thursday and this is my Dilton day. I made a routine where Fridays and Mondays are with Jughead while Thursdays and Saturdays are with Dilton, Wednesdays are a mixed day where I will either spend it with BE, Midge, Betty, Veronica or the guys, Tuesdays were choir days and Sundays were family day/Archie day. Now that my Tuesdays were open I can spend more time with people and still do a part time job for the summer. Art was taking forever. I had finished my last project, a picture of Hot Dog transforming from a puppy to a dog, and got an A on it. Now I had my journal open and was drawing Dilton and Jughead side by side. Jughead was facing left and Dilton was facing right. I lightly sighed and looked at the picture of both the guys I'm dating.

*I know I have to choose one. But how can I? Both are kind, sweet and different. Jughead is weird, funny, passionate with his food, a horror movie lover, and thinks in a unique way. Dilton, however, is extremely smart, has a love for building and creating new things, and is super nerdy. But then again Jughead can be nerdy as well. Both scare easily, are kind, sweet, loving, caring, understanding, great listeners, good advice givers, and are just amazing. How can I choose?* I thought as I sighed again.

"Thinking of them again?" I suddenly heard next to my ear. I jumped and caught myself before falling over. Lucky me I didn't fall nor scream of sorts.

"Beaver Dam Tyler. Don't do that to me." I scolded Tyler as I looked at him, who was looking over my shoulder at my picture, and smiled that sly smile of his.

"Sorry. You kept sighing so I wanted to check on you." He said as he grabbed a chair and sat next to me.

"Trouble in paradise?" He asked me as I shook my head.

"No. The relationship is fine. But that's the problem I guess." I said to him as I sighed again. Dilton and I only had one fight but that was a stupid spell that made him like that.

"How so?" He asked me in confusion.

"I'm going to have to choose one sooner or later. That's the problem. Both are great. How can I choose?" I asked him as I held my head in frustration.

"Well give it some time. Don't rush things. Just spend more time with them and try to see which feels better to you." He told me as I looked at him with wide eyes.

"Ya know what? That's actually the smartest idea I've heard you suggest." I said as he made deadpanned.

"I've had good ideas." He muttered.

"Yeah. Like the time you thought it was a good idea to sled down the massive hilltop and sled through traffic and hit the stop sign?" I asked him as I lightly smiled and tried not to giggle.

"Hey! The sled went farther then I thought it would. And that sign hurt!" He pouted as I giggled. He then realized I was teasing him and chuckled with me.

"Yeah it was dumb." He admitted.

"Just enjoy the time with both of them while you can." Tyler said as I smiled at him.

"Thanks Tyler." I said as the bell rang. Soon papers were tossed up and kids were trying to leave quickly. I shook my head and packed up my things before squeezing my way out of the class and ran straight to Dilton's lab.

*Tyler's right. I _should_ take my time and enjoy what I have. Whomever feels right is the one I'll pick.* I thought as I rounded a corner to get to his lab. That's when it happened.

"Hey babe." I heard after I ran into Vinnie Wells. Man I could not catch a break.

"Not now. In fact not ever." I said as I went to run past him but he grabbed my arm.

"Aw come on babe." He said as he pulled me to him. I eeped as I felt my back against the wall and his arm on each side of me.

"We haven't talked in a while." He said as I glared at him.

"I want nothing to do with you Vinnie. You know that." I said as I scowled at him.

"Why not? I'm just talking." He said in a hurt tone. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Hey babe I got a question for ya." He said as I continued to glare at him. I had a question as well. Why call me babe?

"Well I wanna know why your dating both of those dweebs? What's so special about them?" He asked. Really? That's why? I then felt his hand grab my chin and he made me look at him.

"Why have them when you can have a real man babe?" He said as I glared at him.

"If you mean you then never. You're not a man at all. And even so your older than I am. This _still_ falls under pedophilia." I reminded him as he shrugged.

"So what? Age is just a number and rules are meant to be broken." He said as I glared at him again.

"Besides, I heard Veronica say over the announcements that you might want a third boyfriend. In reality I'm all the man you need _but~_ , and this is only for you babe, I'm willing to compromise and share you every now and then. Heck, if I would've known you were that type, I would've tried to set things up. It really would've saved me time." He said as I then understood what he was saying. I gave a disgusted look and swatted his hand away.

"I am not a slut like you think. And furthermore I am not looking for a third guy and, even if I was, I would _never_ be with the likes of you. I can't even call you a guy. You're more of an insect. An invertebrate that needs to be taken care of by pest control before it nests and becomes a bigger problem. You're not worth my time at all." I stated as I went under his arm and began walking away. I guess I made him mad. He grabbed my arm and pulled me to him.

"I'm going to punish you if you don't-" He started before I cut him off.

"Really? Because last I checked I whooped your sorry butt." I said to him with a smug look.

'Slap'.

The sound seemed to echo and the small amount of students passing by suddenly stopped. I was shocked. He actually slapped me across the face. I was facing away from him as my left cheek started to burn.

"Aw see babe? You made me hit your pretty little face." Vinnie's voice suddenly told me. I was actually shocked that he hit me. Up until now he was all talk.

"Vinnie Wells." I heard Miss Grundy say. Before anything I grabbed Vinnie's left wrist, as his hand still held me, and I twisted it to get him to let go before I flipped him over me. Now he was on the ground, facing the ceiling, as I looked down at him.

"You _never_ hit a lady and you most certainly _**never**_ hit me!" I told him as my words held venom to them. I then stood up straight and looked at Miss Grundy.

"Sorry Ma'am." I said as I looked at her with kind eyes. She looked at me but then shook her head.

"Miss Andrews go to the nurse for an ice pack and Mr. Wells! Principle's office! Now!" She scolded us as I nodded and went to the nurse's office. Once I got there I grabbed an ice pack and headed back to the lab to meet Dilton.

"Sorry I'm late." I said once I walked through the door. Dilton was wearing his lab coat and his goggles. He looked so cute in them.

"Quite alright but why were you- Are you alright? What happened?" He started to talk to me when he looked up and saw the ice pack on my cheek and asked me these questions in a concerned boyfriend way.

"I'm alright. It's nothing." I said as I walked to the closet and grabbed my lab coat. I walked over to him and set the icepack down and put the coat on while he spoke.

"But what happened?" He asked me.

"Vinnie Wells. That's what happened." I said as I put the pack back on my cheek.

"Did he hit you?" He asked me as I nodded.

"Yeah. He slapped me hard." I said as I looked over the blue prints and started to check things off mentally as I looked over the machine as well.

"Aria. Please tell me what happened." Dilton said as he came over to me and put a hand on my arm. I looked at him and sighed.

"Vinnie was bothering me as usual. I guess he had it in his mind that, thanks to Veronica's announcement when she gossiped for the paper, that he could be my 3rd guy and even suggested 'setting me up' with people. I knew he insisted I become his slutty girlfriend. Such an invertebrate he is. I even called him that and tried to walk away. He said he was getting close to punishing me before I cut him off and reminded him that I was the one who beat him up at Pop Tate's. I guess that's what made him slap me. Miss Grundy saw that and she saw me flip him to. I don't think I'm in trouble but she sent me to the nurse and him to the principle." I explained as Dilton went wide eyed and gently touched my cheek.

"You're lucky he didn't hurt you too badly." He said as I shrugged.

"I can take him. And even so I try to avoid him most of the time anyways." I said as I suddenly felt a kiss on my sore cheek. The kiss lasted a few seconds before Dilton pulled away.

"That should help." He said as I understood exactly what he did. We both knew scientifically that it doesn't physically help but it helped emotionally and mentally to where you could feel less pain if the pheromones mixed correctly. I smiled a small sweet smile at him.

"It helped more than you think." I said to him as he smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. We then got to work but the whole time I couldn't help but smile at Dilton's action. We finished up the machine, and I got to bring back the ice pack, as Archie came in with Vegetables like we asked him.

"I brought them like you guys asked." Archie said as he set them on the same desk/counter top the growth ray was on.

"Aria what happened to your cheek?" Archie suddenly asked as I looked at him.

"Is it that bad?" I asked as I went to a mirror. Yeah. It was bad. I had a light bruise close to the shape of a hand on my left cheek. I was so~ going to kill Vinnie for this. I sighed and explained to Archie what happened.

"But enough about me. Let's explain the growth machine to you and fire it up." I said as I walked over to the machine and the Vegetables. As Dilton and Archie were talking I made sure they were in a pile and I made sure to triple check the blueprints to be safe. Dilton then came over and I nodded before he turned on the machine. But not the ray part.

"Dilton this doesn't make any sense. Giant Broccoli?" Archie asked in confusion.

"Not just broccoli. Also lettuce, apples, rutabagas, kumquats, green beans." Dilton said before I put a hand on his shoulder.

"I think he gets it." I said as he then chuckled and rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. Man that was cute.

"So fruits and vegetables. I get that. But why make them big?" Archie asked as I sighed.

"Archie. Remember how we were taught places like Africa don't get enough food?" I asked as Archie nodded his head.

"And remember how we also found out that, due to natural disasters, farmers sometimes lose their crops and we end up with not enough food? And also the fact of homeless people starving and how some people just can't afford enough food?" I asked Archie these questions as Archie nodded again.

"Yeah? But what does that have to do with this?" He asked me as I lightly smacked my forehead.

"Archie sometimes you're dense." I mumbled as he shot me a look.

"Think how many gallons of juice we'd have if this orange was 10X bigger. Or how much easier it would be to pick one large orange instead of a hundred small ones." Dilton said as Archie seemed to realize it now.

"Oh. Like H.G. Well's 'Food of the God's'. We could feed the world. Dilton that's a great idea." Archie said as I smiled at him.

"That's it! He _can_ be taught." I said as Archie looked at me.

"Actually the only reason why I thought of this was because of Aria." Dilton confessed as I blushed a bit.

"Huh?" Archie questioned.

"Well I had pointed out to Dilton how it was hard for people to eat and how in some places food supplies were low to non existing. I had then wondered why 'Food of the God's' couldn't be real when it came to the giant food part." I said as Dilton finished the rest.

"And that's when she thought about my growth serum with the pudding glob. But since that was a bad idea, with the possibility of food being alive. we settled for a machine instead. Also safer." Dilton looked so proud right now.

"You mean this machine _actually_ works?" Archie questioned.

"We don't know yet. That's why we asked for the food. We're testing it now to make sure. By our calculations it should." I pointed out as Archie nodded.

"We'll know in another minute." Dilton pointed out as Archie got so excited he tossed his pen and note book behind him.

"Then give it the gun Aldrinon." Archie said as we looked at the ray. We Then put on our goggles, Dilton put on gloves, and I handed Archie goggles to put on as we got ready. I pulled out my camcorder and turned it on as Archie pulled out his camera to take pictures.

"Testing the growth ray Dilton and I invented as Archie reports." I said to the camera as I walked over next to Dilton.

"All set." I said as he nodded. He then pushed a button on the back and it started up.

"Bigger is better." Dilton said as the ray fired at the fruits and vegetables. Archie took a couple pics and it ended in 6 seconds.

"So, uh, when do they start growing?" Archie asked in question as I immediately grabbed the blueprints and reviewed them.

"Strange. It should've worked." I mumbled as Dilton sighed.

"Dang frizzle frazzle phooey to the 10th degree. We failed." Dilton said and lifted his goggles. I giggled at his little ramble pout while looking everything over.

"It should've worked though. Maybe it needs an adjustment we didn't calculate in or it works on other things." I said simply as Dilton sighed.

"Perhaps." Dilton said as I put the blueprints down.

"It was a nice try anyhow." Archie said as he put a hand on Dilton's shoulder to comfort him. I went to the back of the ray to make sure it was turned off completely before walking over to them.

"Come on. I'll buy you two a burger." Archie said as we walked out of the lab.

"According to our calculations the growth ray should've been phenomenal." Dilton said as we walked down the hall. I then stopped and realized something.

"Oh Butterscotch. You two go on ahead. I forgot my camcorder. Also we forgot to lock up." I said as I turned on my heel and started heading back to the lab.

"We'll wait right here." I heard Archie say as I went to the lab. At the time we didn't realize there was a beetle in with the food and that it was hit with the growth ray. We also didn't know that it was growing because of it. I got to the lab just seconds after the beetle went out the window. I saw my camcorder, that was still recording, and went to it.

"I'm sure the Growth Ray will work." I said as I then turned the camcorder off. I grabbed it and, after locking the door, shut the door and caught up to the two boys waiting for me.

"I got it. Lab's locked up too." I said with a smile as we then left for Pop's. It was only 7pm when we got there but Pops was always happy to see customers. Archie bought us a burger each and we ate our food and enjoyed ourselves. After I paid for the other 3 I had, because Archie refused and I didn't let Dilton pay, we took Dilton home and then went home ourselves. Dilton wanted me to join him tomorrow in fixing the machine but tomorrow was Friday. That was Jughead day. Dilton understood and didn't push it. Now I'm home and I can finally relax and sleep on this nice, warm night.

*Next day Aria's POV*

I woke up to a bright sunny morning and I heard the bird's chirping. I was in such a good mood today. Well that was until I ran into my aunt on the way to the bathroom.

"Aria sweetie what happened? Your cheek is bruised." She said as she then reminded me of what happened. I sighed and shook my head.

"Vinnie Wells, the guy who I fought with at Pop's, hit me in school yesterday. I'm not in trouble because Miss Grundy saw what happened and sent him to Principle Weatherbee." I said to her as she looked at me.

"You're alright though?" She asked me as I nodded. She let me go to the bathroom as I showered and got ready for the day ahead. I looked in my makeup bag and gasped lightly before groaning. Wonderful. The one time I run out of foundation that I never really need. I did my eyes and went downstairs to see Archie eating.

"Archie. I need to go to a makeup store." I said to him as he choked and looked at me.

"Why?" He asked me. I then pointed to my bruised cheek and made a face that said 'Duh' to him. He rolled his eyes.

"You look fine. It'll go away. Don't you have anything in your Halloween makeup kit or something?" He asked me as I shook my head no.

"Wait! Betty! Her and I are close to the same skin tone! And I'm meeting Jughead over there anyways! I'll ask her later for some." I said in realization as I decided to sit down and eat breakfast. When I was done I grabbed my things and went to Betty's house to help her with the cake. I would rather be with Jughead at Pop's but he insisted on meeting here and that he'd bring me a couple burgers. Yum! Anyways I rang the bell and Betty answered.

"Hey Ari-* Gasp* What happened?" She asked me as I sighed.

"I'm really tired of explaining this." I said as I told her what happened. She then invited me inside.

"So I was wondering if you had any foundation I could use to try and cover this up." I said as I then looked at her.

"Hm. I might. I'm not sure if my tone is a shade lighter than yours but lets see." She said to me as I smiled. We then went upstairs to her room as she looked for her foundation.

"So why do you need it?" She asked me as I made a face that said 'Really?' written all over it. When I didn't answer she looked and saw my face.

"Oh right. But why in general?" She asked as I sighed.

"I'm tired of the questions already and I don't want to worry Jughead. I already worried Dilton and I don't want Jughead to see my face bruised up like this." I said as she then came over to me to apply the foundation on my face. She finished and looked at me.

"Um Aria. I hate to say it but it's still visible." She said as I rushed to the mirror and looked. It was still there. Even after applying the foundation.

"What the frog? Are you Fudging serious? Why!~" I whined as I hung my head. Great.

"I'm sorry." Betty said as she comforted me. I just sighed.

"It's fine. At least it doesn't look that bad. If needed I'll add blush. Although I never use it." I said as I went from a small smile to sighing again.

"Jughead's probably going to find out anyway." Betty told me. She was right.

"Yeah I know. But if I hide the bruise as much as I can then he'll worry less." I pointed out as she nodded.

"I understand. I'd probably do the same for Archie." She said as I looked at her and smiled.

"Shall we get started on baking? I've been itching to remake this one cake I baked and a few brownies for just us." I told her as she smiled.

"Sure. And thanks again for both the help and the recipe." She said as I nodded.

"Thank Ronnie for letting me use it. She was iffy at 1st but she did like my cookies. And Archie helped convince her by promising to help her blow up balloons." I said while we went from her room to the kitchen and while Betty pulled out the utensils I grabbed my box of recipes from my bag. I came back in and set the tiny box filled with index cards full of things to make on the table top. Betty watch me open the small box as I tried my best to search through the overstuffed box.

"That's a lot of recipes." Betty commented as she was now next to me looking in.

"Yeah. I've made everything in this box at least once. Whatever turned out right and yummy I kept. Anything that was bad I put in the back labeled 'Never use' or 'Try to fix' as to not use them again or at least try to improve them before giving up." I said as I pulled out my brownie recipe with ease.

"You found that one quick." She said to me.

"I've used it many times is why. These should be in alphabetical order but it's hard to keep it like that. Now to find the- Ah! Here it is." I said as I pulled out my special cake mix. When I did another recipe fell on the floor by Betty. She picked it up and read it.

"Brownie bomb?" She asked as I looked at her funny before seeing the recipe card.

"Now how did that get in with the C's? Oh well." I said as she handed it back to me. I tried to put it back in but was having a hard time.

"Oh Peanuts. It won't go in." I muttered.

"How about we make it?" She asked me.

"We might not have everything though." I told her as I handed her the card to look over.

"Actually I have already crushed walnuts and everything else." She said as I sighed.

"Alright. We'll make that too." I said as I smiled at her. We made both brownies and started the cake and cut the brownies for the brownie bomb. Let her mix while I did the setting and pre-mixing before freezing. It had to chill for 2 hours sowe got the cake in the oven. Now that would be a bit so Betty and I talked while it was baking. I put a few of my PBOF brownies aside for Jughead while we ate one each and talked.

"Mm. These are great." Betty commented while I smiled.

"I hope Jughead likes them." I said with a smile.

"Of course he'll like them. Jughead likes most foods. He seems to love your baking just as much as Pop's burgers." Betty said while I took a bite. As I was swallowing though I heard the last part and started choking.

"Oh my gosh. Aria." Betty said as I put up my hand to stop her before I managed to swallow and stop choking.

"S-sorry. What you said surprised me though." I said as I gulped down a bit of juice.

"What did I say?" She asked me as I gawked at her.

"That Jughead loves my baking as much as Pop's burgers. There is no way possible he loves my sweets as much as those heavenly burgers. It's improbable." I said as I gulped down more juice.

"Well I think he does." She said to me with a smile. I was going to say something when the doorbell rang.

"That's him now." She said as she walked by me and answered the door. I couldn't hear them well but soon they came to the kitchen.

"Hey Aria." Jughead said as I waved to him.

"Hey! I saved you some brownies." I said as he licked his lips at the sight of them.

"If you made them then I'm _definitely_ not saying no." He said as I blushed lightly.

"It's about time to check the cake. We made a triple chocolate cake." Betty said as she put on a mitten and went to open the oven door.

"Don't open it!" We both yelled and ran to stop her when we noticed Betty going to open the oven door. We stopped her and Jughead and I looked at each other for a moment before blushing.

*I can't believe we did that at the same time.* I thought as Betty looked at us confused.

"Huh? Why not?" She asked me.

"Haven't you baked before?" I asked her as she shook her head no.

"No. Not cakes anyway." She said as I looked at her. That's why she needed my help.

"This is a very delicate time. Cold air makes a cake fall." Jughead said as I nodded in agreement.

"That's why we turn on the oven light and look in through the tiny window here. So we don't make the cake deflate and loose its luster and flavor." I said as the three of us looked in through the window.

"She's right." Jughead agreed.

"Wow Jughead. How do you know this stuff? I get how Aria knows." Betty asked before she said she got how I knew. Jughead licked his lips at the sight of the cake.

"When it comes to food, I'm an expert." Jughead said as I softly giggled. He was so cute.

"Oops. I left the icing at home. I'll be right back." I said as I went outside to go get the icing that I left in the fridge. I opened the door and just when I stepped out I saw a giant beetle. It was huge. Bigger than me. What did I do?

"Yikes!" I yelped out as I started to shoo it away before hopping on it.

"Waahaa!" I yelled. This was fun.

"What's-" Betty started to ask before she saw the beetle and screamed really loud. I had to cover my ears as I was then flung off. I prepared to hit pavement but hit something soft and fleshy instead. I looked and saw Jughead caught me.

"Beat it you girlfriend tossing cake wrecker." Jughead yelled as he steadied me and chased the beetle off before hopping on it.

"Betty! Archie's at Ronnie's." I yelled as she quickly went in her house to the phone. Jughead was then flung off it's back with a yelp.

"Jughead!" I yelled as he shrieked again and dodged one of it's legs from stabbing him.

*Think Aria think!* I thought as I looked around to find something to help.

*The hose!* I thought at I went to it. The beetle saw me and I saw it and soon it was chasing me.

"Jughead! The hose! Spray it with the hose!" I yelled as he saw me being chased and went to the hose. He turned it on and, after hitting me at first, hit the beetle and it ran off. Jughead turned the hose off and ran to me.

"Aria! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-" He started to say before I hugged him.

"My hero!" I said as I kissed his cheek and continued to hug him.

"Aria! Jughead! Where's the beetle!" I heard Archie yell. I stopped hugging Jughead and looked to find Archie and Veronica looking at me.

"Jughead chased it off with the hose!" I said in excitement. I then looked at my self and realized I was still soaked.

"Go talk to Betty about it. I'm going to change." I said as I started walking next door.

"I'll come to. You can change while I grab the frosting." Jughead said to me.

"Sure. It's in the fridge. Hopefully Betty and I can make a new cake." I said as we went to the house and walked inside. Jughead went to the kitchen while I grabbed a towel and dried off. I thought about it. If Betty needed more ingredients for the cake then I'd better bring some over. I went into the kitchen as I continued to dry my hair.

"Jughead can you grab some almond milk from the fridge while I grab the chocolates? Betty might need more." I said as I went to the pantry. "Sure." He said as he pulled out the almond milk and set it next to the frosting on the counter. I put the chocolates next to them and ended up rubbing my makeup off on the towel.

"Thanks Jughead." I said as I pulled the towel off my face and dried out my hair more. I than felt a hand under my chin as I was now facing Jughead.

"Um Jughead?" I asked as he had a worried look on his face.

"What happened to your cheek?" He asked me as my eyes grew wide.

*Oh shoot. The makeup.* I thought as I averted my eyes away from him.

"Vinnie Wells slapped me yesterday." I muttered.

"What?! And you didn't tell me?" He asked in shock.

"I was going to later." I said to him.

"It didn't look bad before. Why now?" He asked me.

"I borrowed makeup from Betty to hide it. To make it look not as bad to worry you less." I muttered as I closed my eyes. I could feel his worried and disappointed face and I didn't like it. I then felt something warm on my lips. I shot my eyes open to see Jughead was kissing me.

*Oh buttercups! He's kissing me? He's kissing _**ME!**_ What do I do? Push him? Kiss back? Do something Aria!* I thought as he let go of my face and wrapped his arms around my waist.

*Maybe if I relax?* I thought as I did. I ended up kissing him back and wrapped my arms around his neck. It felt right. He then moved lips away from mine. I opened my eyes and saw his gentle eyes and small smile.

"From now on tell me right away when these things happen alright? How can I be a good boyfriend if I don't know what happened or if somethings wrong." He said in a low voice as I nodded my head slowly.

"A-alright." I whispered. I was scared if I spoke to loudly then I would ruin this. To me it felt like a dream but I knew better.

"Good." He said as he pecked my lips.

"You should probably get into dry clothes before you get sick." He said as he pulled away from me. I whined on the inside as I nodded my head, picked up the towel I ended up dropping, and rushed up the stairs.

"I'll bring these over to Betty." I heard him yell as I got up the stairs.

"Okay." I squeaked out as I went into my room and shut the door before leaning my back against it and sliding down to the floor while holding the towel close to me.

*My 1st kiss. My 1st kiss was with Jughead Jones. I kissed Jughead. Sugar cubes how did that happen? Why did he do that? I never expected him to. I-I. I don't know what to do now. Oh sugar cubes I kissed him back. I KISSED BACK!* I thought as I went red in the face. I breathed for 5 more minutes before I changed out of my usual outfit and into my biker girl outfit, put more eye liner on, brushed my hair into a ponytail, put the hat on, and then left my room to go back to Betty's. I saw Archie getting ready to leave with Veronica.

"Archie!" I yelled as I went up to him. I had a weird idea as to where that big bug came from.

"What's up?" He turned and asked me.

"Where are you heading to?" I asked him.

"Back to Veronica's to-" He started before I cut him off.

"Go see Dilton 1st." I told him.

"Why?" He asked me.

"The growth ray. I know I checked the fruits and Vegetables but I might have missed a beetle in there. Maybe that big bug came from that." I suggested as then a light bulb went off in his head.

"Oh I get it. Then come with us." Archie said as I shook my head.

"Gotta help Betty." I said as he nodded. Soon he dove off. I went inside and Betty told me the glass to the oven was broken so we moved everything over to next door and baked. Betty went back to get the brownie bomb that was almost done being chilled. Now I was alone with Jughead.

"Is something wrong?" Jughead asked me suddenly.

"No. Why?" I asked him as I averted his gaze again.

"Did I do something wrong?" He asked me as he had me look at him again.

"N-no." I stuttered. Darn it now he knows I'm lying.

"Aria if I did something wrong you can tell me." He said as I sighed.

"That was my 1st kiss." I muttered so low he couldn't hear me.

"What was that? I didn't hear you." He said to me. We both didn't know Betty was near the kitchen.

"That was my 1st kiss Jughead." I said loud enough for him to hear.

"What?" He asked me. I looked at his face and saw pure shock on it.

"I've never been on a date before until I started dating you and Dilton, I've never had a guy like me for me before and I've never kissed a guy before. On the cheek is one thing but a kiss kiss is something completely different. You just up and did that. I'm not mad but I've never kissed before." I confessed a bit loudly with a blush on my cheeks. Jughead was blushing as well.

"Well. I. Um. I never knew that. From the way you kissed back. Well. I thought you kissed Dilton already." He said as I blushed harder.

"N-no. I-I hadn't. I-I w-was n-nervous a-a-and. I just let myself relax." I said after a bit of stuttering.

"Did I step over a boundary?" He suddenly asked me.

"What? No. No no no. I-it's not that. I'm just surprise is all. I didn't say I didn't like it." I rambled as I then clapped a hand over my mouth.

"Oh? So you liked it?" He asked me as I nodded.

"That's a relief. I thought I messed up my 1st time." He said as I uncovered my mouth and my jaw hit the floor basically.

"Don't tell me that was your 1st kiss too?" I asked him.

"Yeah? So? No girls really interested me until you showed up." He said as I couldn't stop gawking.

"I can't believe a cutie like you hasn't-" I started but covered my mouth again.

"Oh? I'm a cutie?" He said as I blushed a pure shade of red and looked away from him. I felt arms wrap around my waist.

"Your cute when your blushing. Maybe I should make you blush more often." He whispered in my ear.

"D-don't tease me." I nearly whined in a normal tone as he chuckled. He then made me look at him and took my hand off my mouth.

"I like kissing you. It's new to me and now I see why people kiss." He said to me as he gently kissed my lips. My eyes went wide for a second before I relaxed and started kissing back.

"I hate to interrupt but I need to put this in the fridge." We heard Betty say as we then jumped a few feet away from each other just in time to see Betty putting the batter in the fridge.

"W-what? B-b-but. H-how?" I was trying to ask but thankfully Betty knew what I was asking.

"To where you practically yelled that Jughead was your first kiss. It's cute actually. I never expected Jughead would have his 1st kiss and be the one to kiss 1st. It sounded so romantic." She said as Jughead and I turned red. "It's not nice to spy." Jughead said. "I know and I'm sorry but I ended up overhearing and I really didn't want to interrupt." She said as I brushed off my blush. "I-it's fine. I know you're nothing like Veronica." I said to her. "Yeah. We know you won't gossip about it." Jughead pointed out. Betty was a loyal friend and she wouldn't tell unless she blurted it out by accident. Chances of that are slim.

"Well let's try baking the cake again." I said as I then remembered the brownies I brought over for Jughead.

"Oh that reminds me." I said as I went over to the wrapped brownies and put them on the island.

"I saved you some of my PBOF brownies." I told Jughead as he then started licking his lips before he stopped and gave me a questioning look.

"PBOF?" He asked me as I chuckled. Betty asked me the same thing.

"Peanut Butter Orange Fudge. It sounds weird but it's good." I told him as he took a bite.

"Holy Brownie-tastic!" He yelled before eating them like he would Pops burgers. Betty and I laughed lightly as we got started on the cake.

"Glad you like them." I said while mixing the dry ingredients and Betty mixed together the wet.

"Like them? I love them! So~ Good." He said as I heard him munching away.

"So Jughead. Are you looking forward to Veronica's party tomorrow?" I asked him. Then I heard Betty gasp. I looked at her questionably.

"Oh no. Aria no one told you?" She asked me.

"Told me what?" I asked her in a skeptical tone.

"Jughead didn't get invited." Betty said softly to me.

"What!" I yelled out.

"It's okay. I didn't really want to go anyway." Jughead said as he gulped down some juice he poured from the fridge.

"Why isn't he invited?" I asked her.

"Veronica didn't want him there." She said as I got upset.

"Is Dilton going?" I asked her.

"I think he said no to it. She might not have invited him either." She said as I got mad.

"So what you're saying is she only invited the 'Beautiful perfect' people?" I said as I used air quotes for the beautiful perfect part.

"Basically." She said as I pouted.

"Then tell Ronnie to enjoy the cake. I'm not going." I said flatly as she gasped.

"You should go." I heard Jughead say as I turned and looked at him.

"No. I don't think so. Why don't we just have our date night tonight and hang out a bit tomorrow before I see Dilton?" I asked him.

"Why don't you wanna go?" Jughead asked me.

"It won't be fun without you two there." I said to him.

"But it's a pool party." Betty added in.

"Oh! Well in that case I'm _definitely_ not going." I said as they both said huh and looked at me funny.

"Can't swim?" Betty asked me.

"No. I'm just…..Not comfortable in a swim suit is all." I said as I took a few seconds to think on what to say. I didn't want anyone else to see my scar.

"Aw. I'd like to see you in a swim suit sometime." Jughead commented as I blushed.

"Alright. We can do that then." Jughead also added in, in reference to our date, as I turned to him and smiled.

"Alright." I said as he smiled back. Betty and I put the batter in the oven and I got to finishing the brownie bomb.

"Looks good." Jughead commented as he tried to dip his finger in the creamy middle to taste.

"Jughead no!" I scolded as I smacked his hand away.

"Hey!~" He whined while I looked at him.

"It's for later. I'm going to save some for Dilton too." I said as Jughead went to his seat and pouted.

"Not even a taste?" He asked me. I rolled my eyes and gave him the spoon.

"Here." I said as I put the brownie bomb back in the fridge to finish chilling before dessert.

"Yum!" He said as he finished licking the spoon and put it in the sink. Now we were just sitting around and talking while we waited for the cake to finish. Betty had turned on the radio and we soon heard that animal control caught the giant beetle. I smiled. Once the cake was finished we let it cool, and I kept Jughead away from it, and the frosted it and I even added a strawberry drizzle on top for decoration. I took the Brownie bomb out and flipped it out of the bowl before slicing it up and handing a piece to Betty and Jughead before grabbing us milk and then my piece to eat and enjoy with them.

"So Jughead. I take it you love Aria's baking?" Jughead said as I blushed lightly at that.

"Her baking is the best." Jughead commented as he took another huge bite.

"So do you love her baking as much as Pop's burgers?" Betty suddenly asked.

"Betty!~" I whined while I blushed big time. Why would she bring that up.

"Well, actually, yeah. Between Pop's burger and her baking, and cooking from the eggs and bacon she made, I'm a happy man." He said as I was so shocked I fell out off my chair with a loud thud.

"Ouchies." I muttered.

"Oh my gosh! Aria!" Betty shrieked as she helped me up.

"You alright?" Jughead said as he rushed over and helped me up.

"Yeah. What you said shocked me was all." I said as I blushed from embarrassment. I can't believe I fell over. Betty and Jughead laughed lightly and I soon joined them. It _was_ funny. I wrapped the cake and extra brownie bomb up for Betty as she went home. Once she left I started wrapping up extra for Jughead. I then felt arms around my waste and a warm breath on my ear.

"You know since we're alone we can kiss again. I actually enjoy kissing you." He whispered as I went red. When he held me closer to him to feel his body I blushed harder.

"J-Jughead. A-Archie might come home. Or my Aunt and Uncle." I practically whispered.

"So? We are together." He told me as I blushed harder.

"I know. But I'm not just with you. I'm with Dilton as well." I said to him.

"Do you feel like your cheating on him? Even though your dating both of us?" He asked me. I actually had to think about that one.

"I'm saying it's not fair is all." I said to him.

"Then make it fair." He told me as if it were the easiest solution.

"What?" I asked him as I looked at him.

"He won't kiss you so make it fair and kiss him." He told me as I grew shocked at him.

"I-I can't do that." I stated in shock.

"Why not? You kissed me just fine." He said to me while I blushed.

"Plus if you kissed him 1st not only he'll have his 1st kiss but you'll also be the one to kiss 1st." He pointed out. Man he was smart when he wanted to be.

"Well. I-I c-can try." I said as I looked away from him and finished wrapping up the brownie bomb.

"I get some things are easier said than done but some things are a lot simpler than we think." He said as he then spun me to look at him.

"Like this." He said as he suddenly kissed me. I went wide eyed but shortly closed them and wrapped my arms around his neck while his arms went around my lower back.

"Ahem." We suddenly heard as Jughead jumped back and both looked at the doorway. It was Archie. He didn't look that happy since his arms were crossed over his chest and his foot was tapping.

"Oh hey Arch." Jughead said casually while I blushed. I need to stop blushing.

"Don't 'Hey Arch' me." He said as Jughead smiled and shrugged.

"What? I wanted to kiss her? So?" He said as he looked at me.

"Ready for our date?" He asked me. I looked at him and just nodded. I picked up his batch to take home with him and started heading out the door.

"The single one on a plate is for you." I yelled to Archie as I grabbed my wallet from my bag.

"H-hey! Wait a minute!" He yelled before I shut the door behind me.

"Let's hurry." I said while putting my wallet in my pocket. Jughead nodded and we were soon jogging away from the house. Once we got a ways away we started walking to Jughead's 1st to drop off the sweets before heading to Pop's to get a bite to eat.

"Have you thought of what movie you wanted to see?" I asked him as he thought about it.

"Not sure. Maybe there's a good horror movie out." He told me as I thought about it too. If there was then oh yeah.

"If that's what you want then sure." I said with a smile on my face. We soon made it to his house. He went inside to drop off the brownie bomb slices while I waited outside for him.

"Hey Aria!" I suddenly heard as I looked over and saw Clarice run up to me. I turned around and smiled at her.

"Hey Clarice." I said as I bent down and accepted the hug she gave me.

"How are you?" She asked me.

"I'm well and yourself?" I asked her.

"I'm good. I haven't seen you in a while." She said to me.

"Clarice." I heard Collins yell as he jogged up to us.

"Hey Collins." I said as I stood up and looked at him.

"Oh! Aria! It's just you. For a moment I couldn't see who you were and got worried." He said as I smiled at him.

"I get it. Over protective Brother mode." I said as he rubbed the back of his head said to him.

"Why is your cheek bruised?" Clarice asked me.

"Well. Some one wasn't nice and slapped me. Don't worry though. He got in trouble after I flipped him." I told her with a smile.

"Who hit you?" Collins asked as I looked at him. I could tell he wasn't happy about that.

"Was it Reggie?" He asked me.

"Oh goodness no. Reggie wouldn't hit me. It was-" I started to say but then held back.

"Who?" Collins asked me.

"Don't worry about it." I told him.

"But big brother should no so he can tell him not to be mean to you anymore." Clarice said as I smiled at her. If I learned anything so far it was to tell someone about a problem you have before it gets out of control and others get hurt.

"Collins, Do you know Vinnie Wells?" I asked him.

"Well sure. Every one knows that deliqu-wait. _He_ hit you?" He asked as I bit my lip a bit and nodded.

"It's okay though." I said to him.

"Was this yesterday when he muttered about how no girl flips him?" He asked as I nodded again.

"Let's just change the subject." I said as I motioned lightly toward his sister. He got the hint and nodded on agreement.

"Why are you standing here alone?" Clarice suddenly asked me.

"Oh. Well I'm waiting for someone. He's inside right now and will be out shortly." I said as Collins looked at me.

"You mean Jughead?" He asked me as I nodded my head.

"Are you two dating?" She asked me suddenly.

"Clarice! What were you told about those questions." Collins said while I laughed.

"It's fine." I said to him before I looked at Clarice.

"Well it's complicated." I said as I bent down to her level.

"I really like 2 guys and they like me. We're special to each other." I said to her.

"So your friends with both until you pick one?" She asked me.

"Yes. It's like that." I said as I patted her head.

"Okay! Then you can go on a date with my big brother too." She said with a smile as I tried not to laugh.

"Clarice!" Collins scolded her.

"It's fine. No. I don't feel that way with him. He's like a brother to me." I said as she frowned at first but then brightened up.

"That means I can be your sister!" She said as I laughed.

"Sure." I said to her.

"Ready to leave when you are." I heard Jughead as I looked at him. I stood up and looked at Collins and Clarice.

"Well we need to leave now." I said to them.

"Okay. Maybe we can play soon Big sister." She said to me as she ran to her brother.

"Bye." She said and waved.

"Bye Aria." Collins said as well with a smile and a small wave as they walked on down the street.

"Alright. Let's go." I said as we headed to Pop's.

"Big sister?" Jughead asked me.

"Clarice wants me to date Collins and I told her he's like a brother to me. She then figured if he was like a brother to me then she was my sister. Now I know she'll call me big sister." I said with a smile and I sigh as Jughead laughed a bit.

"That's too cute." He told me as I nudged him lightly.

"Cram it." I said as I smiled. He knew there was no bite to my words. We made it to Pop's and got a few burgers before we went and saw Alligator 2 at the movies. It was messed up. Now he was walking me home.

"Oh that's creepy. I hope we never have a gator in the sewers." I said as I shuttered. Some things would get to me and some wouldn't.

"We'll be fine. I'll protect you anyways." Jughead told me as he pulled me close to him.

"Oh you're so sweet." I said as I cuddled close to him and continued walking.

"Hey! What are you doing with my girl?" We heard the familiar voice of Vinnie Wells. We tried to ignore him but we were soon pulled apart and he pinned Jughead to the wall.

"I said what are you going with my girl?" He asked again as Jughead yelped from both him and the impact on the wall.

"Leave him alone Vinnie." I scolded him.

"Shut up babe. I'll deal with you after." He said as he looked at Jughead. He lifted his fist up and got ready to punch him. I saw red again. I jumped on his back and started chocking him.

"Leave him alone!" I screamed to make sure people could hear me. They did.

"Get off me!" He yelled as he tried to get me off of him.

"Don't you dare hurt him!" I screamed again as I used all my weight to move to the side and flip him. He go up and was mad. I saw a cop come this way. I ran into Jughead's arms.

"Leave us alone you creep." I yelled at Vinnie.

"Don't tell me what to-" He started.

"Hey!" The cop interrupted him. Vinnie took off and the cop started chasing him. Once they were out of sight I took Jughead's hand.

"Come on." I whispered loud enough for him to hear as we ran off. Now we were close to my house. Yes I've started calling Archie's house mine as well. It felt like home to me.

"Sorry he showed up." I said as I looked away from him.

"Don't worry about it. I'm just surprised at what you did." Jughead said as I looked at him.

"Well he was going to hurt you. I ended up seeing red." I said as we stopped at the house. Archie's car was still gone so he was still out.

"I think it's cool that you can do that. That's one of the reasons why I lo-like you." Jughead said. I then looked at him.

*Was he going to say love?* I shook the thought out of my head and smiled at him. He then pulled me into a hug.

"You should go inside. It's getting a little cold." He told me as I then felt a small breeze and shuttered while I hugged him back.

"Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow though right?" I asked him.

"Yeah." He said as we started pulling apart. He gave me a quick kiss on the lips before he pulled away completely.

"I'll see you tomorrow. Sweet dreams." He said as he then started walking off with a smile and a wave. I smiled and gently waved back.

"You too." I said loud enough for him to hear me. Once he got a good distance away I walked to the door and went inside. I sighed in happiness as I went to get ready for bed.

*Next day Aria's POV*

I had gotten ready for the morning and left the house. I decided to check on Betty and saw her bent over with sticks to scare off bugs. I also saw Archie, relaxing in a lawn chair, and looking at her every now and then. I rolled my eyes and went over to them.

"Betty there's no big bugs. You might also want to not bend down like that. My cousin seems to be enjoying the view if you catch my drift." I said to her as I smacked Archie upside the head.

"Hey!" He said as Betty gasped and realized I was right.

"At least it's not as bad as Jughead pushing you against the kitchen counter and making out with you." Archie teased as I blushed and smacked him again.

"Ow. Quit it." He said to me.

"So he caught you too?" She asked me.

"Wait? Caught you too? As in two of you or too as in as well?" He asked me.

"Oh would you look at the time." I said as I decided to take my leave. I put on my skates and went to Jughead's place. I had my bag with me with Dilton's Brownie Bomb in it and stopped at Pop's to pick up 40 burgers before heading over to Jughead's. Yeah Pop's kinda drained my wallet a bit. But for Jughead it's worth it. I skated to his house and rang the bell.

"Oh Aria! So good to see you again. Please come in. Jughead's in the living room waiting for you." Mrs. Jones said to me while I was un-clipping my skates.

"Thank you Mrs. Jones." I said respectfully as I went inside and into the living room.

"Hey there." Jughead greeted as I smiled at him.

"Hey. Brought some food." I said as I waved the two large paper bags in my hands in the air.

"Alright!" He shouted as I walked over and plopped down next to him. I saw a 12 pack of orange soda laid out for us and a few monster movies.

"Aw sweet! I haven't seen the Jaws movies in ages!" I said with a smile.

"Yeah. I thought you'd like it." He said as he played the 1st one.

"The music is great and the suspense is amazing. Plus I like the 1st and 2nd Jaws. The 3rd could've been a bit better and the 4th had so much potential to it but failed miserably." I said, voicing my opinion, as Jughead nodded.

"I agree with you 100% on that. But still fun to watch." He said to me as I nodded.

"Agreed." I said. We ate burgers, drank soda, cuddled and watched all 4 Jaws movies before I realized what time it was.

"I'm going to get going. I still need to see Dilton." I said as he walked me out the door.

"See ya later?" He asked as I nodded. He kissed my cheek quickly before we parted ways. I soon made it to the school and got to the lab.

"Hey Dilton." I said as I walked inside. I didn't see him though.

"Dilton?" I questioned but got no answer. He wasn't here.

"Maybe he stepped out?" I wondered as I decided to wait for him. And that's what I did. For 6 hours. I had toyed with the machine and saw Dilton's notes at the time. The machine worked on living creatures. So my theory with the beetle was correct. Once it was dark outside I got flustered and was about to leave when Dilton and Archie rushed in.

"There you are. Archie? On no. When you're here that means a weird mystery. What happened?" I said as I sighed over this.

"Veronica turned on the machine yesterday and she's growing. We need to figure out how to shrink her." Archie said as I gasped.

"Oh no." I said in shock.

"We have to think." Dilton said as I decided to help him. After 20 minutes Archie grew impatient.

"Come on you two. We need to help Veronica." Archie said trying to rush us.

"We can't think with you yelling at us. We're doing our best." I scolded him.

"She's right Archie. The ray wasn't designed to-" He started to say until we felt the room shake.

"It's either an earthquake or she's coming." I said.

"Help! She's mad at me and Aria for inventing that ray!" Dilton yelled as I grabbed him and took him to the window.

"Doubt it." I told him as we looked outside to see her near and holding.

"Jughead?" I questioned.

"I'm king of the world!" He shouted from her hand as Veronica showed up at the window. She then lowered her hand so he could look inside.

"Evening gents and lady. Nice night for a stroll." Jughead said as I giggled at his optimism.

"Wow. How'd you find us?" Archie asked as I rolled my eyes at the question. Really?

"Well Veronica got to thinking that ray is what made her enormous." He said as Veronica the brought him to her face.

"Big boned!" She scolded as she then poked him.

"Sorry. Big boned. So we thought this was a good place to start." Jughead said as we soon heard sirens.

"Oh no. The police." Archie said.

"Oh no. Do you think there after me?" Veronica asked. Really?

"No. I'm sure they're after another 50-foot girl who tore the roof off a clothing store. Give me a boost." He said, sarcastically at first before the last sentence seriously, as Veronica obeyed and lifted him up above her head to see things better.

"Dilton. We need to invent a shrink ray. Maybe from your side project?" I asked him.

"My freeze gun? How could we do that?" He asked me.

"I'm not sure." I said as Jughead soon jumped into the room.

"Just chill you two. Like cold air hitting a cake in the oven." Jughead said. That's when Dilton's and mines light bulbs went off.

"Jughead! That's it!" Dilton said as we got to work.

"Cold air causes the air bubbles in a cake to pop and deflate. We can do the same thing to Veronica but just zero in on her amino acids in her growth hormones." I said as I handed Dilton another part in exchange for one he gave me.

"We just need to switch the parts on this ray to do so. In other words we'll deflate Veronica like a cake." Dilton said as I handed him the coil he needed. I wasn't paying much attention to Archie's and Veronica's talk as I helped Dilton with the last part.

"Your idea was genius Jughead. How did you come up with that idea?" Dilton asked him.

"Because Jughead's different." I said simply.

"Aria's right. It's because of that that Jughead thinks differently. Right Jughead?" She asked as we made our way over to her.

"Eh it's no big deal." Jughead said. I wasn't surprised he was like that.

"Yes it _is_ a big deal. Take it from someone who knows big!" She said as she reached in and grabbed him. I looked out the window and saw her kiss him before setting him back in the room. Poor guy had lipstick all over him.

"If it wasn't for Aria I'd _still_ hate kissing." Jughead said. Dilton gawked a bit and Veronica looked shocked.

"You two kissed?" Veronica suddenly asked. I then heard the sirens.

"Dilton shoot her now! The cops are almost here!" I yelled as he shook his head and blasted her with the ray. At 1st it didn't work and she was upset. "Just wait a minute. There could be a delay. Our inventions work most of the time." I told her as she was about to cry. Soon she shrank to her normal size.

"It worked! I'm a size 7 again!" She yelled as the cops showed up. She was talking to the cops and pointed to another direction as they soon sped off. Smart. She then invited him to a pool party she was having next week and he agreed as long as she didn't eat all the burgers. She agreed. I couldn't help but laugh with Dilton and Archie. Archie decided to take her and Jughead home.

"Aria. Do you and Dilton want a ride?" Archie asked as I thought about it. I remembered mine and Jughead's conversation yesterday about kissing Dilton. Now was a good time.

"I'm sure. I'll help Dilton clean up. It's still date night." I pointed out.

"Right." Dilton said as if he just remembered. After what just happened I didn't blame him for forgetting.

"I'll see you at home Arch." I said as he nodded and went to the car. I was helping Dilton clean.

"So. What did Jughead mean earlier by 'if it wasn't for Aria I'd _still_ hate kissing?" Dilton suddenly asked me.

"Oh. Well um. He uh. W-well." I got flustered before I sighed.

"Jughead kissed me yesterday." I finally said it.

"He what?" He asked in disbelief.

"I was shocked as well." I said as I put a few things in a box.

"Mainly because that was my 1st kiss." I said to him.

"Wait. 1st kiss?" He asked me.

"Yeah. I kiss kiss is different than a kiss on the cheek for me." I said as he put some things in a box, facing away from me.

"Which is why I need to do this." I said as I worked up enough courage to say that and knew it was a good time.

"Need to do wha-mm." He started to say before I turned him around and planted my lips on his. I knew I took him by surprise as I wrapped my arms around his neck to pull him closer. We lost balance though and he fell backwards while I landed on him. I quickly stopped kissing him and gasped.

"Oh my goodness. Dilton I'm sorry. Are you ok-mm." I started saying but he shot up and kissed my lips. He had a hand on the back of my head and an arm around my waist as he pulled me down on him so we were back to kissing. It went like this for a few minutes before he flipped us over, him on top of me, and broke the kiss.

"W-wow." I muttered as I blushed a deep shade of red.

"I agree." Dilton said with a blush on him as well.

"It was fair. I want things to be equal." I said to him as he soon realized what I meant.

"I'm glad you thought about my feelings as well." He said as he helped me up. We finished cleaning and locked the machine in the closet before we decided to go on our date. We fixed the beetle of course. I got better at riding it before Dilton shrank it. He took me to Pops before we called it a night. It was getting late after all. He brought me home and gently kissed me before leaving for the night. I smiled and walked inside. I then went upstairs to help Archie with the article. He had already typed most of it at Pop's, they left a while before we showed up, and decided to add in my parts. I was adding in my parts between his ending lines. So it read like this.

"And so alls well that ends well. Dilton and Aria returned the beetle to normal size, Veronica returned to her closet full of clothes, And Jughead returned to one of his true loves. ~Archie. I swear if you say I'm his other I will hit you. Anyways without Jughead's odd ball thinking, which I call unique because it is, Veronica would still be a giant today. And I thought clothes shopping for me was hard enough. For her it would be impossible. ~Aria. I wonder if she'll think twice before she pokes fun at someone who's different? ~Archie. Probably not but you never know. ~Aria. So big problems or not life still goes on. ~Archie. …...In a little town called Riverdale. ~Archie and Aria." I stretched and yawned.

"So did ya kiss Dilton too?" Archie suddenly asked me. I gasped and looked at him as I turned red.

"I'm going to say yes by how red your face is." Archie said as I looked away.

"Fair is fair. If I'm dating both then both deserve a kiss." I said as I walked to the steps of his room.

"Goodnight." I said as I hurried to my room. I didn't want to hear it. I quickly got dressed and in bed. All through the night all I dreamed about was my kisses between Dilton and Jughead.


	25. Chapter 24

Chapter 24: It Lives In The Sewers!

*Aria's POV*

It was Saturday night, after Veronica's 2nd party, and I was trying to sleep. I couldn't. I felt horrible. Poor Jughead had a pet alligator, super cute named peanut, and he ended up getting flushed down the toilet. I wish I had gone in the bathroom faster to stop Veronica. The guilt was eating me up. I woke up and decided to get a glass of water to see if that helps. A few minutes later I gulped down the water and heard the phone ring.

"Who in hullabaloo is calling?" I wondered. Before long, as I started up the stairs, Archie, fully dressed, came running down and grabbed me before heading out the door.

"Wha?" I asked in a daze we were now outside Betty's house.

"Betty called." Archie said as he knocked on the door. Soon we were in Betty's house and I snapped out of my daze.

"Dang it you two. Can't even wait till morning or for me to get dressed?" I said in a snippy tone. I saw Archie setting up and wondered when he brought the stuff over.

*I must be tired if I'm not paying attention.* I thought as Betty asked about the electronics. Archie explained how Dilton lets him borrow it.

"Archie! He let's _us_ borrow the equipment. You're not the only one who uses it." I scolded him.

"Heh. Sorry." Archie said nervously. He knew I was cranky now.

"If my parents saw this mess." Betty started.

"No worries. I'll make sure Archie cleans it up before your parents return on Monday from vacation." I said as I looked at Archie.

"Right. And your haunting as well." Archie agreed as I sighed.

"Do you know how to work this stuff?" Betty asked Archie.

"No." I muttered.

"Of course I do." He said as he went to plug the two cords together to turn it on.

"Archie wait! Dont-" I started to warn him but too late.

"Waaaahh!" He shrieked as he was then electrocuted to where the power went out.

"Archie are you alright?" Betty asked as she now shined a flashlight on him. I busted out laughing. His hair frizzed out.

"This is _so_ typical." Archie said in a dazed tone.

"I tried to warn you." I said in a childish way. Archie soon went to turn the breaker on, without electrocuting himself, as the power came back on. I began re-wiring the machines and plugged it all in properly without getting shocked and overloading the power.

"Told you he didn't know." I said to Betty. Archie soon explained what everything did as I started nodding off. Man I needed sleep. He then mentioned something about an earthquake and was next to the machine that could detect it.

"Archie? Why did you bring that?" I asked him.

"I got carried away." He said as I sighed and shrugged.

"Whatever. I'm tired." I said as I started to nod off again. Just as I did the earthquake detector went off and made me jump.

"Holly Milkshakes that's loud!" I shrieked out and held a hand over my heart. Yup. I'm awake now.

"Is it an earthquake?" Betty asked as I looked at the machine with Archie.

"No. The vibrations the machine is detecting doesn't show an earthquake. But it does show something large underground." I said as they looked at me.

"Dilton showed me different vibration grids." I said simply as they said ah and nodded in understanding. That's when we started hearing noises.

"The sound. It's coming from everywhere." Betty said. As Archie pulled out a small gadget I started speaking.

"No. It's not. It's echoing. Trust someone who knows different sounds. I can't pin point it like the gadget Archie's holding but I can guarantee that it's an echo coming from maybe that way." I said as I pointed upstairs.

"Actually Aria it _is_ coming from everywhere." Archie said to me.

"That's impossible unless it's in the sewers." I said as we then decided to go up the stairs, where I pointed to, and ended up in the bathroom. The sound soon came from the bathtub drain as I sighed.

"Archie. Remind me to stop talking." I said as I soon found out I was right. Whatever it was, it was in the sewers, and it sounded _big!_ Seriously? Why did I have to be right? I'd love to be wrong.

"This'll make a great article for the story." Archie pointed out.

"Now what?" Betty asked.

"Isn't it obvious? We need to get into the sewer. Simple as that." I said as I started to head downstairs. They soon followed and, after Betty got us flashlights, went outside to an already open manhole occupied by a yellow truck.

"Hold on." I whispered to them.

"Why?" Archie asked me.

"I've seen a few of these trucks in the city before. This is a chemical truck. If it's near an open manhole then they're either dumping illegally, which doesn't seem right that they would right here, or they lost a chemical container and they're trying to find it and detox the place before something bad happens." I said to them matter of factually.

"Are you serious?" Betty asked me as I nodded.

"Yes. Take it from a city girl whose been near chemical plants once or twice. I know my vans and box trucks." I said as we then decided to approach but with caution just in case. Once we got close enough he spotted us.

"Who's there?" The man suddenly asked.

"We were going to ask you the same thing. Archie Andrews. Reporter for Riverdale High and my cousin, Aria Andrews, assistant reporter for Riverdale high." He said as he neglected to introduce Betty. Made sense.

"Look kids I'm busy." The man said.

"That's exactly what I want to talk to you about." Archie said with a smile. Archie could be persuasive but how well would it work here?

"I'm afraid that's classified." The man said.

"It's because you're either dumping toxins in our sewer or lost a container correct?" I asked him. The man was taken aback from what I just said.

"What are you-" He started before I stepped in front of him and continued.

"I know this type of truck from the city limits. It holds toxic and very dangerous chemicals that can do more damage than people think. And if I find out you're illegally dumping here than I sure as crackers can have you arrested. I've already memorized the plate number and your face through your hazard suit." I told him as I was starting to become intimidating. Thank you city skills.

"Kids I'm going to have to ask you to leave and _don't_ go down that manhole." He said sternly.

"Did you dump illegally or lose a container by accident?" I questioned him.

"I have a right to remain silent." He said to me. Now I was starting to fume.

"That's it. I'm going down there to see for myself." I said as I headed to the manhole. I was being stubborn.

"Hey! I said don't!" He said as he grabbed my wrist. I just flipped him on his back and went to the manhole.

"Archie! Betty! Keep an eye on him. See if he talks. If they _are_ illegally dumping then call the sheriff." I said as I then slid down the ladder and was now in the sewer. I held up the flashlight and looked around. I gulped a bit.

*Why the sewer? Why? I swear if there's a clown or a mutant gator down here then I'm done!* I thought as I shook the fear away and saw a large holder with a sprayer. I looked and soon saw it was for cleaning chemical spills to make them less toxic.

*So it _was_ an accident.* I thought as I saw a container, small one, that was broken on the side and it was empty. I then heard that weird noise and shot up straight.

*Sounds like an animal. Oh no! Not a gator! Please no mutant gators!* I thought in a panic as I turned around and saw nothing.

*I'm going to regret this.* I thought as I decided to walk where I heard the noise. I know it screams bad idea but I had to know if something got mutated. I am an assistant reporter after all. I swear I could hear footsteps but saw nothing. I soon got near a corner and ran into a man in another suit as he shined a light on me. Great.

"What are you doing down here? It's a restricted area." He told me as I rolled my eyes.

"Actually the sewer is a somewhat public area especially under investigation for mysterious acts or anything along those lines and as an assistant reporter I have a right to investigate." I plainly told him.

"You're out of here. Now!" He said as he began to guide me out when we heard the growling noise behind us.

"I'm gonna turn around and somethings going to be there. I'm gonna turn around and somethings going to be there. I'm gonna turn around and somethings going to be there." I muttered quickly in a nervous tone as we turned around and saw big yellow eyes looking at us. We shined a light on it and it was a giant mutant alligator. I shrieked loudly and began running with the man following me.

"I Fudging knew it!" I shrieked out as we hurried to the manhole we arrived from. I made it to the ladder 1st and edged the man up.

"Go go go go go!" I said quickly as he made his way up. I was close behind him when I misstepped and fell off the ladder and onto the wet ground. Wonderful. I heard growling and looked to see the creature had stopped and started at me, standing on two legs and over 6 feet tall, before opening his jaws and letting out a growl sound.

"Aria! Get up here now!" I heard Betty say as it got closer. I shrieked and bolted up that ladder faster than you could say hamburgers. I practically leaped out of there and was soon held by my cousin as I panted. Then it's jaws went through the manhole and snapped a few times before it lowered back into the sewers. The adrenaline was coursing through my veins from all of that. If I wasn't awake before I am now. The 2 guys put the lid back on the the manhole.

"Now do you wanna call for backup?" The one from the sewer asked.

"Wait! You didn't call for back up to report this accidental spill?" I questioned as I let go of Archie. Archie had to hold me back so I wouldn't hurt them.

"You two are morons!" I yelled at them before we heard another growling sound and then the jaws of the beast lunged up, shooting the cover off the manhole, and flew through the air.

"Take cover!" Archie yelled as he pulled me away from the truck. We were at a safe distance when the cover landed on the truck and caused it to explode. Me ears rang a bit so I couldn't hear what the guys were saying.

"I think _we_ need to call in backup." I heard Archie say as he helped me and Betty off the ground.

"Can I change real fast?" I asked Archie as he sighed.

"Fine." He said as I ran back to the house and changed into different pajamas, this time it went from my black tank top and black and white stripped shorts to a purple tank top that had outlines of shells on the breast part and green shorts with a light green fringe and dark green scale designs on it, as I threw on my light green slippers Aunt Mary insisted on getting me and quickly brushed my hair as I rushed outside quickly and quietly.

"Really?" He asked me.

"It's easier to move in pajamas." I said as he shook his head.

"I meant the pajamas." He said as I glared at him.

"I can't _always_ wear black you know." I told him before he gave up. Now we made it to Jughead's house, we had to walk there to be quiet, as we climbed up the side of his house to his bedroom window. I hurried up 1st before Archie and Betty. What? I was faster at climbing. And besides I had to check on Jughead. Poor guys probably still mourning. I saw him sitting on his bed, eating a burger, and looking sad. Poor guy. I've never had a pet before so I wouldn't know how it feels to loose one. I knocked on the window to catch his attention as he saw me and came over.

"What're you doing here?" He asked after he opened the window.

"Can't I check on one of my boyfriends?" I asked him as he shrugged.

"May we please come in?" I asked him.

"Sure. Wait we?" He asked me as I slipped in and soon Betty and Archie entered as well.

"Besides me checking on you we have a problem." I said simply to him.

"Somethings going on in the sewers." Archie said to him.

"What are you talking about?" Jughead asked him.

"One: Noises in Betty's house coming up from the pipes." Archie stated.

"Two: Hazard waste people cleaning up toxic waste in the sewers." Betty said next.

"Three: Giant mutant alligator with 9 inch teeth that tried to make me dinner!" I pointed out next.

"Sounds like there's something in the sewers." Jughead said in a monotone.

"You're telling me. I-hey. What's wrong with you?" Archie asked while Betty said huh.

"Archie you're so insensitive. He's still mourning over Peanut." I said as I pointed to his black arm band he was wearing.

"She's right Arch. You are insensitive." He said as I went over and gently hugged him as I followed him to his wall of pictures.

"I wish I could relate Jughead. But I can't. I can only support you right now." I said and rubbed his back.

"At least you care." He said.

"Who's Peanut?" Betty suddenly asked.

"His pet baby gator." I said to her as something clicked in my head.

"Archie! Do you think that mutant gator was Peanut? I mean with the toxic waste you never know what it's capable off." I said to him.

"Let me tell Betty about Peanut 1st but I think your right." He told me as we began the flashback.

*Flashback Aria's POV*

Archie was bringing me to Jughead's house so we can have our date night. Veronica actually agreed to meet Archie there to make things easier. I had been worried about Jughead. I hadn't seen him since Veronica's party on Saturday. I had been helping Dilton in the lab and picking up extra chores around the house until I find a summer job. It was still tough but I had to keep trying. Anyways I had called Jughead to see if we were still on for our date and he wanted me to come over to show me something incredible.

"I wonder what Jughead wants to show me. He didn't say anything." I said as Archie pulled up in front of his house.

"I'm not sure." He said as I got out of the car.

"He said his parents were gone and that we can just come inside." I said as we got up to the door and we let ourselves inside. I bolted up the stairs faster than Archie so I could see Jughead.

"Hey Jughead. I'm here. What did you want to show me?" I asked him as I saw him taking pictures of something in a shoe box. What?

"Hey Aria!" He practically yelled out as he grabbed my hand and yanked me over to the shoe box.

"Meet my new pet!" He exclaimed. I gasped. It was a baby alligator.

"Is that?" I asked as he replied yup.

"It's-it's." I started to say before I picked it up.

"So~ Cute!" I exclaimed as I kissed it. It nipped my nose and I giggled.

"I think he likes me." I said as Jughead took a picture of him nipping my nose.

"That's my favorite picture now." Jughead said as I blushed.

"What's his name?" I asked him.

"Haven't thought of one yet." Jughead said as I put him back in the box. He was playing with the packing peanuts.

"How about Peanut? Because he likes those packing peanuts a lot." I suggested before I was pulled into a hug.

"That's a great idea. That's the name we've been looking for. Huh Peanut?" He asked as Peanut made a little sound of approval.

"Hey Jughead." Archie said as he came in.

*Uh oh. He'll tell Jughead it's a wild animal. I know he's right but Jughead can keep him for a couple years before donating him to the zoo or something.* I thought as Archie came over.

"We haven't seen you for days and-" He started before he stopped and saw why Jughead was taking pictures.

"Is that what I think it is?" Archie asked him.

"It's my new pet, Peanut! Isn't he the cutest?" Jughead asked with a huge smile on his face. He just looked so happy.

"Jughead. This is a very bad idea." Archie scolded with his arms crossed while Jughead said huh.

"Cute baby alligators grow up to be big alligators." Archie explained while he used his hands to show small to big for the alligator growth.

"So?~" Jughead asked while he picked up the box with Peanut in it. Archie looked at him and Peanut used his mouth to spit a packing peanut at him. I giggled at that.

"So he's a wild animal. He can't live in that shoe box forever." Archie pointed out. He made a valid point.

"But I love my little Peanut." Jughead said as I then felt a ping in my chest. He _loved_ Peanut. Not once had him nor Dilton said they loved me. It kinda hurt but I never said it to them either.

"If you _really_ loved him then you'd let him live in a place where he belongs." Archie said as Jughead gave him a skeptical look.

"I think I understand." Jughead said to him.

"You do?" I asked.

"Good. I-" Archie started saying before Jughead cut him off.

"Obviously you're jealous that I have this cool new pet and you don't." Jughead said with a huff as he started walking into the bathroom.

"That's not it. Hey! Don't leave." Archie called out to him.

"Sorry Arch but it's time for Peanut's bath." He said as we soon heard the water run.

"Aria talk to him. He'll listen to you." Archie said to me.

"What?! Oh no! Leave me out of it!" I told him in a panic.

"He's your boyfriend! Well _one_ of them. Tell him it's a bad idea. You know it is." He told me as I sighed. Once the water stopped running Jughead re-entered the room.

"Jughead I'm serious about this. Tell him Aria. Tell him it's a bad idea." Archie said while starting to raise his voice.

"I'm serious too. Peanut's _my_ pet and he's not going anywhere. Right Aria?" Jughead said as he then brought me into the fight as well.

"Why the swamp am _I_ brought in the middle of this?" I questioned. They were both glaring at each other before looking at me.

"I think both of you are right in a way." I said to them.

"What?!" They both questioned me loudly.

"Jughead. Archie is correct. Not only is Peanut a wild animal but he'll soon get too big and might hurt you or someone else one day. And Archie. Jughead is right too. Peanut is his pet. Plus Peanut is a baby and is too young to be left in the wild without a mother to teach it how to hunt for food or protect it from danger. Do you want my opinion on what to do?" I asked them both just as Veronica showed up.

"Hi Aria. Hi Jughead. _Hello_ Archie-kins." Veronica said as we ignored her.

"Ahem." She coughed next to Archie's ear.

"Veronica not now. Archie will be ready in a moment. This is important right now." I told her in a snippy attitude.

"Fine. Let me freshen up then. Be right back in a few minutes." She said as she went into the bathroom.

"My opinion is Jughead should keep him for a while. He won't get bigger for a few years. Once he gets to a proper size then he could give Peanut to the zoo or a preserve where he can be happy and grow up and they can allow Jughead to visit him or send him letters and pictures of how he's doing." I said to them. Before anyone could comment we heard Veronica scream.

"Veronica!" Archie shouted.

"Peanut!" Jughead shouted after. I bolted past them just in time to see Veronica flush Peanut down the toilet.

"No!" I shouted and actually reached in the toilet to try and grab him. It was too late though.

"My pendant!" Veronica shouted.

"My Peanut!" Jughead said after words.

"My Goodness." Archie exclaimed in shock. I was frozen I can't believe what happened. I then stood up with a wet hand.

"Jughead I'm so sorry. I tried." I said as I felt horrible.

"Veronica how could you!" I turned and shouted at her. I had yelled and scolded her as Archie held me back. Through the rest of the evening until late at night I comforted Jughead the best I could while Archie went on his date with Veronica, who felt no guilt at all, while I couldn't help the guilt that build up inside me.

*End flashback Aria's POV*

"And that's basically what happened." I commented as Betty was shocked.

"I think that mutant gator _is_ Peanut." I said to them.

"But that's impossible." Betty commented.

"Not really. Those kinds of chemicals can have so many different side effects like make two headed animals or enlarge them. It's highly possible." I said as Jughead looked at me in a needy hopeful way.

"Look. The news." Betty said as she then turned up the TV. It basically talked about how a giant creature destroyed the truck and the TV's inside but only stole the packing peanuts. That's when Jughead gasped.

"Aria's right! It's my little Peanut! Only Peanut would want those packing peanuts!" Jughead exclaimed while jumping up and down. I wanted to giggle at his happiness but we had other things to worry about.

"I need to see him! Archie take me to him!" Jughead said as my mouth dropped.

"Jughead you don't get it. It's dangerous. He almost ate Aria!" Archie scolded.

"He didn't know any better! If I see him then maybe he'll stop! I grew a bond with him over a few days and-" Jughead started before he was interrupted.

"Jughead Peanut is a wild animal who won't hesitate to eat you!" Betty tried to explain.

"I'll take you Jughead." I said after snapping out of my daze.

"Huh?" Jughead asked.

"What?" Archie and Betty asked me.

"Jughead has a point. If he can get through to Peanut and stop this before he gets killed then we have a shot. Besides I'm the one who saw him. I know where to enter. If I can see a map then maybe I might know where he's nesting." I said as Jughead glomped me.

"Wah!" I said as we nearly fell over.

"Oh thank you Aria!" Jughead said as he hugged me tighter. I could feel the air supply thinning.

"No! Absolutely not! Mom and dad would kill me if anything happened to you 1st off and 2nd it's to dangerous!" Archie scolded me.

"Don't care! Jughead's feelings are important! Peanut's life important! Can't Breathe!" I said through a strained voice as Jughead then released me.

"Oops. Sorry." He said as I took large breaths of air.

"Archie she's right in a way." Betty said as I smiled at her. I didn't even wait for Archie as I took Jughead's hand and lead him out the window.

"Aria! Wait for us!" Archie yelled out as now the four of us made it to the spot Peanut attacked.

"See Jughead. See the damage he did?" Archie pointed out the cracked pavement to him.

"Gee. My little Peanut sure has grown." Jughead said.

"You have no idea." I muttered as I started down the sewer.

"Aria!" Archie scolded.

"Archie! I'm taking Jughead to find Peanut! You can come too or stay up here with Betty to be look out." I said to him as I slid down the ladder. Jughead soon followed.

"Let's hurry." I told him as I grabbed his hand and we ran deep into the sewers of Riverdale to find Peanut the mutant alligator. We stopped running and began looking around. We wondered around for 10 minutes until.

"Jughead? Aria?" We heard Archie.

"We're over hear." Jughead said as he took my hand and lead me down one of the splits we ran into.

"Where's here?" Archie called out.

"Quiet guys! We might wake Peanut if he's sleeping!" I scolded in a normal tone. We continued walking to find one another.

"Jughead. Aria." Archie called out.

"Archie." Jughead and I said loudly at the same time. Soon we crossed paths and we looked to our left to see Archie and he was now looking at us. That only lasted a few seconds though. Why? Because Peanut stepped between us and Archie and let out a growling sound with its jaws opened.

"Wah!" The three of us yelled as we started running for out lives. I looked behind us and saw him chasing us.

"Crud!" I yelled as we picked up the pace. We rounded a corner and ended up at a dead end with a pile of packing peanuts all over to form a nest.

"Well we found his nest." I said.

"I guess your theory was right Aria. That _was_ Peanut." Archie said as Jughead got closer and picked something up. Veronica's medallion.

"And here's exhibit A!" Jughead exclaimed.

"And exhibit B is these packing peanuts." I exclaimed. We then heard a growl and when we turned around we saw Peanut looking at us.

"Oh no!" I nearly shrieked.

"When did Peanut get a nasty attitude?" Jughead questioned.

" **Now** can we get out of here?" Archie asked us.

"I think I'll come back when Peanut's had a nap." Jughead exclaimed as we ran around him. I knew he was chasing us. We then hit a split.

"Which way?" Archie asked.

" _You're_ asking _us?_ " Jughead exclaimed the question.

"Sorry." Archie said as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

"Ugh. Archie! You go left and Jughead and I will go right so then at least one or two of us make it out of here alive." I exclaimed.

"I don't think that's a good-" Archie started but then was cut off by the growling sound Peanut made.

"Never mind!" Archie yelped.

"So what are we waiting for?" Jughead asked.

"Last one to the manhole is gator chow!" I yelped as I grabbed Jughead's wrist and ran right while Archie ran left. We kept running until I looked behind us and screeched us to a halt and leaned us against a wall.

"What-" Jughead started but I interrupted him.

"It's okay. We got away. That means he's chasing Archie. We can rest and figure out where to go." I explained as we took deep breaths. It didn't last long though. We heard the growling sound and looked to our right in fear.

"Maybe not." Jughead said as we then bolted down a path. We didn't realize we just missed Betty as she started to head to where we were before. That's when we heard a scream.

"Jughead wait. I heard Betty!" I said as I stopped him.

"Does that mean-" He started asking before I started dragging him back to where we were.

"Yup! She's down here and Peanut found her. We have to go back!" I said as we hurried back to where we were.

"I was afraid of that!" Jughead said fearfully as we continued to save Betty. We made it near a manhole and saw Archie on the ground and Peanut there about to eat him.

"Archie!" I yelled in fear.

"Peanut! Stop!" Jughead said as Peanut saw us and walked over to us. Jughead put me behind him as he stood there in a parental way.

"Now I told you if you're going to be my pet then you weren't going to eat my friends and especially my girlfriend." Jughead scolded while waving his finger in a scolding manner. I blushed at the girlfriend part.

*He was teaching Peanut not to eat us? Especially me?* I thought as Peanut hovered over us.

"Get out of here while you still can." Archie yelled to us. I clung onto Jughead and refused to leave him.

"I'm not leaving him here alone." I said as I held him from behind and him still shielding me.

"Why? No problems here." Jughead said in a normal, not terrified, voice as Peanut then roared in his face. I yelped lightly from the loud sudden roar.

"Bad mutated alligator." Jughead scolded as then Peanut's gaze softened. Wait softened? Jughead then patted under his jaw and smiled.

"My little Peanut." He exclaimed as I let go of him so he could hug Peanut's jaws. Archie walked over right next to him as Peanut lifted Jughead in the air.

"My _big_ Peanut." Jughead exclaimed before he was let down.

"Now apologize to Aria!" He then exclaimed as he suddenly pushed me in front of Peanut. We just looked at each other for a second.

"Um. Hi Peanut. Remember me? Um." I said as I looked at Jughead who nudged me to pet him. I looked back at Peanut and went to pet him.

"Um. You still like those packing peanuts huh?" I asked as I started petting him.

"Heh. I guess you're still Cute." I said as he then nuzzled into my hand before his jaws got close to my face and nipped my nose gently for a moment before pulling back.

"You do remember me." I exclaimed as Jughead smiled.

"Well at least he apologized." Jughead said as we both smiled.

"I hate to spoil the moment but Betty will be here any minute with the police." Archie exclaimed. Oh crud. Jughead then gasped.

"They'll hurt Peanut!" Jughead exclaimed in fear.

"I let my baby down before. I can't do it again." Jughead said in sadness. I felt for him. The guilt soon came back.

"I couldn't save Peanut in time last time. I won't fail this time. That guilt has been eating me up. Now it's time to make up for it." I said with a new passion as I looked at Jughead.

"But he doesn't belong here." I said to him.

"What?" Jughead asked me.

"She's right Jughead. This is what happens when you take a wild animal from it's home." Archie started to explain.

"Even though Peanut was a baby we still should've found a way to bring him to the wild like a zoologist. Either way this is what happens. The problem gets bigger and soon it becomes a mess." I said as I understood what Archie meant now.

"Though Aria was right about the baby part and him needing care until older but just not as a pet like she just said." Archie added in as Jughead sighed.

"Maybe you two are right. I should've listened. I knew it was a bad idea but I loved him. I wanted to help take care of him and raise him." Jughead explained.

"But how do we get him to where he belongs?" Jughead asked in wonder.

"I have an idea how." I said as Jughead looked at me.

"You do?" Archie asked me.

"Yes. It's a win win for all of us. Including Peanut." I said as I pet the top of his nose. He then bent down and nuzzled under my chin as if he was willing to listen.

"I think Peanut trusts me on this one." I said as I explained what we would do. Archie then climbed to the top and started to get things situated while Jughead and I stayed down here to keep Peanut company. He was a snuggle bug and a nipper.

"So. When you said 'the guilt was eating me up' what did you mean by that?" Jughead asked me as I looked down at a now half asleep peanut, head resting on my lap since we were both sitting, and petting his snout/upper jaw while blushing a soft pink.

"Well. Um. I-I kinda, sorta, felt guilty that when Peanut got flushed down the toilet that I wasn't fast enough to grab him before he was flushed down all the way. If I had been a second faster then I could've caught him. I'm glad Peanut's not mad and I'm surprised you didn't blame me." I said to him as I refused to look a him.

"Is that all? There was nothing to do. You tried and that's all that mattered. I couldn't blame you at all. Especially since not only you weren't the one who flushed the toilet but were the one who rushed in to try and stop it." He said as I looked at him.

"You didn't blame me for even a second?" I asked him while he got up and sat behind me. He then wrapped his arms around my shoulders in a hug and rested is chin on my right shoulder.

"No. I knew you were just as upset as I was over this. I knew that, even though you've never had a pet before, you felt the same thing I did over Peanut getting flushed. I never once blamed you. I was shocked you tried but I also know you loves animals and would try to save them. That's why after you suggested once Peanut hit a certain size to have him transferred to a safe haven type resort showed you cared for, not only Peanut, but my feelings as well. That's why I don't blame you." He said as I blushed a darker shade and looked down at Peanut, who was looking back at us, and mumbled 'oh' under my breath.

"It's actually silly that you thought I'd blame you." He said as I grew embarrassed.

"W-well s-sorry for thinking that." I stuttered.

"Are you embarrassed for thinking that?" He asked me.

"A little." I mumbled as he held me closer and nuzzled his face into my neck.

"That's kinda cute." He said to me.

"No it's not." I mumbled as he chuckled.

"Why do you think I taught Peanut not to hurt you at all? I care to much to let you get hurt. That's why I thought we could take care of him together." He said as I grew shocked.

"R-really?" I asked.

"Well sure. If I'd be willing to raise anything living with someone it would be with you." He said as I blushed.

*Raised anything living? Does that mean he'd be willing to be a parent one day?* I questioned in my head as I then mentally shook the thoughts out of my head. We soon heard people and before we knew it the sun was up and Peanut was out of the sewer and being guided into a helicopter. Jughead and I hugged Peanut goodbye, he hugged us back and even nipped my nose one last, before he walked inside the chopper completely. Jughead and I walked off, me comforting him, as the chopper closed up and soon flew off to Peanut's new home. Once it was gone I went over to Veronica.

"Thanks again for this Veronica. It not only made Jughead feel better but me as well to know Peanut will go to a special reserve to live the rest of his life happily." I said as she smiled at me.

"I didn't do it for _just_ you and Jughead. I didn't even do it because Archie-kins asked me for, not just himself, but for you two as well. I did it because I started to feel bad about what I did. And also because I haven't been a good friend to you and I was hoping this might help us be better friends." Veronica admitted as I smiled and held back tears. I then hugged her.

"Thanks Veronica. This means a lot to us. I know you're trying to be a good friend in your own way. Thank you." I said as she then hugged me back. I then pulled away and went on my way with Jughead, Archie, and Betty back home to get out of my pajamas. Archie and Betty walked ahead of us while Jughead and I lagged behind to talk.

"By the way, You look super cute in your 'Little Mermaid' Pajamas." He said as I blushed lightly.

"Maybe next time you stay the night at my house you can wear it." He said bluntly as I blushed a deeper shade of red.

"Oh. Um. Thank you. And um. Sure." I said as I got flustered. Stay at Jughead's again? Oh boy. Soon we made it home and Jughead gave me a quick kiss before leaving to go home. I then, with a blush on my face, went upstairs and took a shower and started getting ready for the day when I heard a knock on my bedroom door.

"Come in." I said as Archie opened the door and entered my room.

"You ready to start the Article? I figured we'd do it early so if we wanted to sleep for a bit we could after." He said as I smiled at him.

"Sure. Better to do it while it's fresh." I said as we exited my room and went to his to fire up the laptop and start the article.

"There was someone who wanted to help. Veronica made amends by having her father pay to relocate Peanut to a special game preserve in Florida. ~Archie. She felt guilty about what she did and did that, not only to help Peanut, but to keep her loyal friends. She's come a long way. ~Aria. Yes. She also made sure to have special Eco-scientists, upon Aria's suggestion, to give special care that a mutant alligator requires. ~Archie. After all Peanut deserves to live the rest of his life happy, healthy, and free in the wild where he should be and not cooped up in a small place or in the sewers. To often we forget that nature needs to take it's course. Though it doesn't hurt to help when needed. We just need to learn boundaries is all. ~Aria. But Jughead realized Peanut's well being was more important than his need to have a pet. Even one he wanted to raise with Aria. ~Archie. Archie stop teasing me darn it. You scold me for straying so I get to scold you about the teasing. ~Aria. Sorry. It was too good to pass up. ~Archie. Anyways Jughead was almost willing to stay down there to raise Peanut. It was cute actually but not factual. And besides it's hard, even for Jughead, to get burgers in the sewers. ~Aria. ….Even in a little town called Riverdale! ~Archie and Aria." We finished the article and, while Archie decided to clean up the equipment from Betty's house, I decided to go over and ask her about the babysitting job she was doing.

"Well actually I'm going to need help Monday night with babysitting these twin boys. I usually do it by myself but lately they've become a handful and I could use the extra help." She said as I smiled at her.

"Sure. Just charge a fair price, not double, and we'll split it." I told her.

"Sounds like a plan." She said as we shook on it. Wonderful. It was a start and I was glad about that.


	26. Chapter 25

**Alrighty fellow readers! Another fan chapter! Woohoo! It's a more than one parter so let's hope I can do this. P.S. I was working on this at work when it was night time and i was alone and also at home last night while we had a lightning storm. Holy crap this started to freak me out. I'm the one who wrote it and i got jumpy to the point of i screamed when the work phone went off. Anyways Enjoy and remember to keep me posted. Always open to ideas!**

Chapter 25: Double The Terror!

*Aria's POV*

Okay. So it's Monday night, wearing my black ripped purple sewn on under tank top and my jean biker shorts with my biker boots, and I was nervous. Betty, who had car privileges from her parents to babysit, was driving us to the house we were going to babysit for. Apparently, from what Betty has said, these twin boys just turned 9 and think they're all grown up and won't listen to their parents at all. They listen to Betty a little bit but that's it. I guess it's a phase. A tough one. They say they don't need a sitter but as far as their parents are concerned they do.

"Don't worry. It's only for a couple hours." She told me as I nodded my head.

"Yeah. But I'm still nervous. I mean I've never really babysat before. I mean my neighborhood wasn't exactly the best place for kids. What if I mess up? What if I make you loose this client? What if-" I was listing down my worries as questions when I was interrupted.

"Aria. Calm down. I heard you did well watching those kids in the daycare until there parents showed up. Clarice also told me how you comforted her when she lost her brother in the store. Trust me, if I didn't think you could handle this, I wouldn't have said yes to the help." Betty said as she put her hand on my arm and patted it before putting it back on the wheel.

"I hope so." I muttered as I sighed. We pulled up to the house, yellow two story, and parked the car in front of the house. I got out and followed Betty to the door. She rang the bell and I couldn't help but be nervous. We heard a crash and some yelling before the door opened up to a woman dressed up in a nice sapphire blue dress and her brown hair tossed up in an up do.

"Hi Betty. I'm so glad you can make it." She said with a smile.

"Hi Mrs. Donavon. I hope you don't mind that I brought help with me." She said as she gestured to me. I smiled the best I could.

"A friend? Betty you know how I feel-" She started but Betty was quick.

"I know but with your sons I figure two of us would be easier no matter how long you take. No extra charge. I trust her completely." Betty said as looked at me again.

"Well if Betty trusts you then I suppose we can have a test run. My names Sarah Donavon." She said to me as she extended her hand. I smiled and politely shook her hand.

"Very nice to meet you Ma'am. My name's Aria Andrews." I said as she then gawked.

"Your not related to that Andrews boy are you?" She suddenly asked me.

"He's my cousin ma'am. I'm just staying there until I finish high school." I told her as she then looked at Betty.

"Don't worry Mrs. Donavon, She's more responsible than Archie is." Betty added as we then heard another crash followed by a male voice yelling.

"Oh boy. No time to argue I suppose. We're already running late. Please come in." She said as we followed her inside.

"Boys! Betty's here and she has a friend with her." yelled as soon there father came in, holding both boys by the ear, and then released them.

"This is my husband, Drew, and my sons. The left one is Duke and the one on the right is Luke…..I think. Honey which is which again?" She suddenly asked. I was shocked. Was it really that hard to tell which was which?

"I think it's the other way around dear." Her husband said. This wasn't good. I decided to take action. Both boys had brown hair and hazel eyes so it was hard to tell who was who but decided to try.

"Do you boys mind telling me who is who? I'd like to try and know." I said as I bent down to their hight, under my ribs, and smiled at both of them.

"My names Aria. I'm a friend of Betty's and I've never met twins before." I said as I smiled brightly at them. At first they just looked at me. Then the one on the left spoke up.

"Is your name really Aria?" He asked sceptically in a soft voice.

"Yup. Not short for anything either." I said to him.

"What does it mean?" He asked me.

"Well. Hm. An Aria is usually a long song accompanying a solo voice like an opera. It also translates to 'air' and 'melody' in Italian but in Hebrew it means 'Lioness'." I said to him.

"Why air?" He asked me.

"Well in opera you need to take large breaths of air in order to sing long notes whether they're high or low." I said to him.

"That's cool. I'm Luke." He said with a smile before his brother punched him.

"Ouch." Luke said. I then looked at the other twin.

"Now that wasn't nice. I know you don't want me to tell you apart but you shouldn't hit him. He's the only brother you have. Be lucky to have him." I told Duke as he looked at me.

"You don't hit your brother or sister?" He asked me.

"I don't have a brother or a sister. I'm an only child and grew up like that. I have a cousin but that's a bit different than a sibling." I said as he then looked at me with wide eyes.

"How about we let your parents leave and then the four of us can figure out what to do." I suggested to them as they just nodded. I stood up straight and I saw Mr. Donavon's shocked face. I looked over and saw the same look on Mrs. Donavon's and Betty's face.

"What?" I mumbled as they brushed it off. We soon saw them out the door as they explained the rules to us. Man they were uptight but it was there house. Soon the boys ran off somewhere while I looked at Betty.

"So what was with that look you three gave me?" I asked her.

"Oh well. Actually we were just shocked was all." She said as I raised an eyebrow.

"Why?~" I questioned her.

"Well Duke and Luke don't talk to people a lot. Actually when I 1st started babysitting them they wouldn't even tell me who was who. They kept switching their names up and kept confusing everyone. The fact that Luke talked to you _and_ told you his name right away says something. Duke, however, will take some time." She told me as my jaw dropped.

"So basically I just earned a couple brownie points with the parents?" I asked as she nodded.

"Yeah. Pretty much." She said as I smiled.

"Sweet." I said before we decided to find the twins and figure out what to do for the next 4 hours. At first the boys stayed with us but after 10 minutes they decided to both go to their room. I didn't like that and neither did Betty.

"How about I make then cookies and you try to get them out of here instead of being alone up there." I suggested as Betty agreed and went up there. I had the cookies in the oven before I heard a loud crash. I started to run up the stairs when I heard the crashing sound again. I got to a room where the crashing sound came from and saw one twin on the ground and holding his head while the other one was throwing his toy trucks around.

"I said enough." I heard Betty yell after he threw a big toy at her. He then grabbed a big toy truck and went to throw it at his brother. I ran and let it hit my shoulder instead of the one twin's head. I then looked at the twin.

"That's enough Duke!" I scolded him as he then stopped throwing his toys.

"You don't throw toys at us and _especially_ not at Luke!" I scolded him as I picked Luke up and looked at Betty.

"I'll get him an ice pack." I said to her as I began walking out.

"Alright." Betty said as I brought Luke down stairs. I sat him down at the kitchen table before I went to the freezer and found an ice pack.

"How'd you know I was Luke?" He asked me as I made my way back to him and put the ice pack on the, now forming, lump on his head.

"To be honest I wasn't sure. I just figured he was Duke because of him hitting you earlier." I said to him. I then went and grabbed a hand towel and wet in under the kitchen faucet.

"So why did he start throwing a tantrum?" I asked Luke as I turned around and went to him to clean his face off.

"I'm not supposed to tell." He told me.

"Tell what? All I want to know is why your brother did that and what I could do to make him happy instead of mad." I said to him as I finished cleaning his face and smiled at him. He smiled back before his face suddenly dropped. I grew curious and felt a breath on my neck. I whipped my head around and saw nothing.

"Is something wrong?" Luke asked me as I shook my head.

"No. Nothings wrong sweetie. Just felt a breeze on my neck is all." I said as I turned and looked back at him. He seemed to be scared like he saw something I didn't.

"Luke? What's wrong? Are you still feeling pain?" I asked him as he then shook his head.

"N-no. I'm feeling a little bit better." He said as he handed me the icepack. I smiled and lightly kissed his head where he got hurt before bringing the icepack to the freezer.

"That's good. At least it's not serious." I said.

"Why do you care? You just met us?" He asked me suddenly.

"Well I'm partially responsible for what happens to you. And besides that I happen to like kids." I said as I turned and looked at him with a smile.

"You do?" He asked me as I nodded yes to him.

"I wouldn't ask Betty if she needed help if I didn't." I said as I then remembered the cookies.

"Oh Sugar! The cookies!" I yelped as I ran over to the oven and quickly put on an oven mit before pulling the cookies out and setting them on a towel that was on the counter.

"Cookies?" Luke asked me.

"Well I thought you two would like some sugar cookies." I told him as I put the cookies on a plate and went to get milk.

"Can Leviathan have one?" He asked me. I stopped and looked at him.

"Who's Leviathan?" I suddenly asked him.

"Oh. Um n-n-no one." He said as he shied away. I looked over at him and saw him get fidgety.

*An imaginary friend perhaps?* I thought with a smile.

"Really? That's a shame. I thought he was a friend. If he was then I'd gladly let him have a cookie as well." I said as I gave Luke a cookie and a glass of milk.

"You would?" He asked me with his head tilted. I decided to play along.

"Oh yes. I like meeting new people and seeing what they're like. I also like making friends. Is Leviathan your friend?" I asked him.

"Yeah. He doesn't like me saying that though. He and Duke don't like me talking about him though." He said to me and took a bite out of the cookie.

"Well that's no fun now is it? Maybe I could meet him?" I asked him as he then looked at me. He looked behind me before at me.

"I don't think he wants you to meet him." He told me.

"Oh well. Guess he doesn't want a cookie then. Do you like them?" I asked him as he smiled brightly at me.

"They're _really_ good!" He exclaimed. I smiled at him.

"That's good." I said as I heard the plate start to move. I looked over and saw it was closer to the edge of the counter.

*Did Duke sneak down here?* I thought.

"Leviathan wants one now." Luke said to me.

"Oh really? Why is that?" I asked him as I went over to the plate of cookies and pushed them back where they were.

"Because he said they smell good. I didn't know we had cookie mix." He told me before he commented on the cookie mix.

"You didn't. I made them from scratch. I usually do with all my sweets." I said as I poured a glass of milk.

"Really?" He asked me as I pulled out another plate and put a couple cookies on it.

"Yeah." I said to him.

"Mom never does that." He told me.

"Some people don't." I said to him.

"Can Leviathan have one? He really wants one." Luke told me. I turned and smiled at him.

"Anywhere special he want me to put his? And any milk?" I asked him. He then looked over, as if looking behind me, and then back to me. I just blinked and decided not to question it.

*If I try to ask he might think I don't believe him.* I thought.

"He said yes to half a glass of milk and he also asked if you're bringing Duke some." He said. He seemed like he was worried his brother wouldn't get any.

"Well normally I wouldn't think it was a good idea but Betty's talking to him. I'll have her come down here and spend time with you while I try to get to know Duke as well. In other words yes. He's getting a couple as well." I said with a smile.

"Oh. Okay. Then Leviathan wants you to put his in the closet. That's where he lives." He said as I looked at him surprised.

"Why does he live there?" I asked him.

"He said it's nice although he'll be under our beds sometimes. He'll be in other places but he likes our closet most of all." He told me.

"And you're sure he won't get mad about this?" I asked him. I was asking about Duke being mad but I guess he thought I meant his imaginary friend.

"No. Leviathan thinks your pretty. He never really liked Betty because she's blonde. If Duke gets mad tell him Leviathan said it was okay." He told me as I just looked at him for a moment. I then smiled lightly and continued to play along.

"Alright. I'll let Duke know if he asks." I said as he smiled and continued to eat the cookies I gave him. I made my way upstairs and finally heard them.

"I don't wanna say sorry. Leviathan said you're stupid anyways." I heard Duke say.

"But Duke you know it's the right thing to do." Betty said to him.

"What do you know? You're just a dumb blonde." He said as I stiffed a laugh.

"Now-" She started before I used my foot to tap on the door.

"Betty." I said as she looked at me.

"Why don't you go downstairs to Luke? Let me try." I whispered the last part so only she could hear me.

"Oh but-but. Ooo fine." She said giving up with a sigh after. I smiled and walked inside while she left.

"Hey Duke." I said as he continued to sit on the floor and turn his back to me.

"You don't have to apologize if you're not ready to." I said as he tensed up.

"Would some sugar cookies make you feel better?" I asked him.

"Yes." He muttered after a while. I smiled lightly at him.

"Alright." I said softly as I walked over and set the tray down before putting a plate and cup next to him. He looked over and saw the other plate and glass.

"Are those yours?" He mumbled to me.

"Hm? Oh no. These are for Leviathan. He wanted some and told Luke it was okay for me to bring them to him." I said as I got up and went over to the wicker double door closet. I opened it and then put the plate and glass in there slowly.

"Did Luke tell you about him?" Duke asked me.

"A little bit. Not much other than he wants a cookie, doesn't like Betty at all since she's blonde, is both of your friend and Luke says he thinks I'm pretty. That's it really." I said as I went to close the closet door.

"Don't close it." He said as I stopped myself.

"It's so Leviathan can see and hear us better." Duke told me.

*Okay. I guess this is a start.* I thought as I continued to play along. I wanted to know why they needed an imaginary friend to approve upon anyhow.

"Alright. If that's what Leviathan wants then there is no harm." I said as I turned around and and made my way over to him.

"Where would you like me to sit?" I asked Duke.

"Anywhere is okay." He muttered while looking at the cookie. I decided to sit in front of him so I could talk to him better.

"Didn't you grab any for you?" He asked me. I shook my head no.

"No but that's okay. I'll eat one later." I told him with a small smile.

"Why?" He asked me.

"Well because you kids come first. And Leviathan." I said as I decided to add in the imaginary friend to make him feel a little more comfortable.

"Do you know who Leviathan even is?" He asked me as I shrugged.

"No but I know he's yours and your brother's friend. I'd like a chance to meet him. If you three would let me." I said to him as I took a look over to the closet and then back at him. I saw him look at the closet before he nodded and looked at me.

"He said your the only adult to want to meet him. He says you think he's imaginary but is willing to prove otherwise. He also said the cookies do taste better made from scratch and that I'd like them as much as him and Luke do." He said to me as he bit into the cookie. My face dropped a bit as I looked back at the closet in curiosity. How could he know they were home made? If Betty was up here with him then he couldn't have tried to take the cookies.

"How long has Leviathan been here? I'm getting the feeling he's not so imaginary." I said as I muttered the last part to myself.

"He's not imaginary. He's real. He's glad you're thinking that now. He says it's easier to meet him when you start to think and know he's real. He's right. These cookies _are_ yummy. Did you really make them by hand?" He asked me as I continued to look at the closet door.

"Yeah." I muttered to him.

"Why do you keep staring at the closet?" He suddenly asked me. I snapped my head at him and smiled.

"I'm sorry Duke. I was just curious was all. I should be talking with you and getting to know you instead of trying to force Leviathan to make me see him." I said as I smiled at him. Then we heard two glass objects slide across the floor followed by a door shutting. We both snapped our heads to the closet, that was now closed, with the plate and glass cup, now empty, half way to us. I was in a panic now.

"He doesn't want you afraid. Only Betty." Duke suddenly told me as I snapped my head to look at him.

"What?" I questioned him.

"He told me you seem afraid. He doesn't want that. He wants Betty afraid of him." He told me as he finished his cookies and milk.

"Uhuh." I said as he put the plates and cups on the tray.

"I'm ready to apologize to Luke now." He suddenly told me.

"Oh. Well um. Alright. Let's go down there together." I said as I stood up and took the tray from him.

"He's in the kitchen with Betty." I told him as he nodded and ran out the door and down the stairs. I only watched him.

*Great. A weird mystery. Why.~ Why when Archie isn't here? One night of normal.* I said as I looked back over at the closet.

"Who and what are you?" I questioned lightly to the closet.

"Your new friend." I heard a whisper in my ear. I went wide eyed and whipped my head around to find no one there. Yup. Just great. I shuttered and decided to go downstairs and into the kitchen quickly. I saw Luke and Duke getting along and Betty had sighed.

"Betty? Can I talk to you a moment?" I asked her as I set the dishes down in the sink.

"Boys why don't you two pick out a movie while we talk." I said to them.

"About what?" Luke asked me sweetly.

"Yeah." Duke said in a sceptical way.

"Mostly on whether we make food or do take out." I quickly told them.

"Okay!" They both suddenly said with a smile and bolted into the living room.

"Betty. Did either of the boys talk about a friend named Leviathan?" I quietly asked her.

"Hm? Well yeah. A few times. told me he was imaginary. They said he didn't like me so they never talked about him in front of me. Why?" She asked me.

"You haven't noticed weird things while that happened?" I asked her.

"No. A few broken things or missing food but that's it. It was usually when one twin was missing. It's a game they play and blame it on a friend that's not real." She told me.

"Betty I'm starting to think he's real." I muttered to her.

"What do you mean?" She asked me.

"Well I've noticed things move and hear things as well. You haven't?" I asked her.

"No. Not since you've been here helping me keep an eye on both. By the way how did you get Duke to apologize? I never seem to get to." She asked me as I just looked at her.

"I just told him that he didn't have too but should and then he said he would. I don't know Betty. Maybe I've been doing so many weird mysteries that it's now on the brain a lot." I told her as, even though I started doubting myself, decided to shelter her from this kind of danger.

"Maybe. You've been helping Archie out a lot with those lately. Maybe this will help more than you think. If it goes well then can hire you either with me or you can sub in when something happens." She said as I shrugged.

"Yeah I guess. I like the twins. I wouldn't mind." I said with a smile. We decided to order Pizza and I went to ask the boys what they wanted.

"Boy we're ordering Pizza. What kind do you-" I started asking when I saw the two of them sitting in front of the open coat closet and just stared at it.

"Um boys?" I asked. Nothing. I decided to slowly walk over to them.

"Hey? Are you talking to Leviathan?" I asked them suddenly when I got close enough.

"Yeah." Luke whispered.

"He doesn't want Betty here." Duke whispered. I then felt their hand in each of mine and hold it tightly.

"He wants her gone." Luke whispered to me.

"Well we're only here for about 3 more hours. Will he be alright for that long?" I asked them above a whisper. They continue to look at the closet. I squint my eyes to see if I could see anything but it was so dark I couldn't.

"He said this time. Next time he doesn't want her here." Luke whispered to me.

"Well that's alright. I guess. Just don't hurt her alright Leviathan? She's my ride home." I said to the closet as if he were really there.

"He's gone now." Duke said as he got up and closed the closet door. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't freaked out by all of this.

"What did you ask us?" Luke said as he caught my attention.

"Oh. Right. Well Betty and I thought a Pizza would be easier so I was asking what kind you liked?" I asked them.

"I like pepperoni!" Duke piped up.

"No!~ I want meatballs!" Luke shouted.

"Why? There both the same!" Duke shouted.

"Hold on boys. How about a meat lovers?" I questioned them.

"What's that?" They both asked and tilted their heads. It was cute.

"It's a pizza with meat on it. All kinds. Pepperoni, meatballs, sausage, chicken, ham and sometimes bacon if you ask." I said to them.

"Let's get that!" They shouted to me.

"Would Leviathan like one?" I asked them. They stopped and looked at me. Did I just do something wrong?

"You'd get one for him too?" Duke asked me.

"Well he's here too. It's fair." I said.

"Too kind." I heard a whisper in my ear. I bolted up and looked around but saw nothing.

"What's wrong?" Luke asked me while tugging my hand lightly.

"N-nothing. I thought I heard something. That's all." I said as I looked at them and smiled.

"He'd like a meat lovers as well." Duke said as I smiled at him.

"Alright! Four meat lovers and whatever Betty gets for her." I said with a smile.

"I'm getting Hawaiian." Betty said as the three of us looked at her.

"Why?" The boys said as they ewed.

"Because I think it's good." She said as I made a face.

"Pineapple ruins a pizza though." I said to her.

"Not to me." She said.

"Blasphemy!" I shouted and pointed a finger at her while the twins laughed at this.

"Great. Now there's three of you!" She said as she sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Alright. 1 Hawaiian and 3 meat lovers." She said.

"4. 4 meat lovers. Leviathan wants one too." I told her. She was going to protest but she saw me lightly nudged my head at the boys and I mouthed play along I'll owe ya one as she sighed.

"Alright. 4 meat lovers then. And my Hawaiian." She muttered as she went into the kitchen to call the place in.

"Wow. Betty never orders food for Leviathan." Duke said in shock.

"Well if I'm going to slowly meet him then food helps." I said to them before I turned and looked at them.

"Now go pick a movie out for us to watch alright?" I asked as they nodded and ran to pick a movie. I smiled as I watched them pick a movie out.

"Too kind." I heard the whisper again as I whipped my head and saw the closet door slightly open before it closed shut again. I was seriously freaking out but had to ignore it. We watched a movie and ate pizza, putting one box in the closet, and soon it was time for bed.

"Can Aria tuck us in?" Luke asked Betty.

"Yeah! Let Aria tuck us in!" Duke shouted as the twins grabbed a hand each and started dragging me upstairs.

"Hold on you two! Go upstairs and change while I help Betty clean up. I'll be up there in 10 minutes alright?" I asked as they nodded, let me go, and bolted up the stairs.

"They seem to like you a lot." Betty said as she was both impressed and a little jealous.

"How long have you watched them for?" I asked her out of curiosity.

"About a year now. You've got them liking you sooner then I did." Betty admitted while cleaning up.

"Do you know how long Leviathan has been here?" I asked her. She just gave me a weird look.

"Not this again." She muttered but I looked at her.

"I just wanna know is all." I asked her. Betty thought about it.

"I guess bout 3 maybe 4 months." She said to me. I just sighed.

"Why do you-" She started before I interrupted her.

"Just curious about this. If that long then they might have the imaginary friend around for another year or so." I said to her as she understood that.

"Yeah. Not a lot of friends can do that." She said as I looked at her.

"Well I was alone through most of my life with no friends until I moved here and I never once had an imaginary friend." I told her. I never really did.

"Whys that?" She asked me.

"I got scared if I did have one then my parents would hurt them or send me away somewhere." I said barely above a whisper.

"Oh that's right. Archie mentioned your parents being mean to you. You never seem to talk about it though." She told me as we moved all the stuff into the kitchen.

"Nothing to talk about Betty." I said kinda quickly.

"Well what did they do? Ground you a lot? I'm your friend. I deserve to know." She told me as I looked at her.

"Betty. That's why I won't tell you. Our friendship is good as it is. Even if you and Veronica are dating my cousin I won't tell you. I don't want pity." I told her as I put the dishes in the sink.

"I wouldn't pity you. It's not like they hit you or anything." She told me as I kept quiet.

"Right?" She questioned as I kept silent. Betty gasped in realization.

"Aria?" She questioned me.

"No. Betty I will not have pity towards me. I don't want to feel sorry for." I told her as I tried not to raise my voice.

"I don't. I feel sorrow you never had friends or a normal childhood but I don't pity you. I'm your friend because I actually like you. The day you moved here I knew I would. And I was right to get to know you." She told me as I calmed down before lightly chuckling.

"Ya know. Jughead said you'd understand." I said to her as I head back to the living room.

*Oh shoot! The other box!* I thought as I went to the closet where I had put the other pizza. I pulled it out and found the pizza completely gone.

"Wha?" I questioned before I shut the closet door and brought the empty box to her.

"Time to tuck in the 'Twins of Terror' you call them." I said as I giggled.

"It's so weird. They're behaving better than usual." She said as she started dishes. I just laughed while I made my way to their room. I went to the room when I heard talking.

"Do you really like Aria?" I heard Luke ask suddenly.

"Yeah. Why do you like her instead of Betty?" I heard Duke ask suddenly.

"She can hear us. She's outside." I heard a new voice say. It was a male voice and it sounded a bit raspy. I decided to knock on the door.

"Boys. You decent? Still want me to tuck you in?" I asked them. I was going to pretend I didn't hear them conversing.

"Yeah!" They both said as I opened the door and stepped inside. Luke wore green dino pajamas while Duke wore blue shark ones. I thought it was adorable.

"Alright boys play time's over. Bed time is now." I told them as they crawled into bed. I tucked them in and said goodnight to each of them as I started to leave.

"Can you read us a story?" Luke asked me.

"Yeah! Leviathan wants to hear one too I'm sure." Duke said as I looked at them. I felt like Leviathan was something more than they let on but what full on proof did I have?

"Um. Sure." I said as I walked over to a tiny bookshelf. I didn't see any good ones.

"Any one in particular?" I asked them.

"How about Red Riding Hood?" Luke asked me.

"No way. Leviathan hates wolves." Duke commented.

"Then how about Goldie Locks and the Three Bears? Leviathan likes bears." Luke asked and mentioned the bears thing.

"No. Leviathan hates blondes remember?" Duke replied and asked as Luke sighed.

"Oh yeah." Luke said in disappointment. I then had an idea.

"Did you ever hear the tale of how Red Riding Hood met Three Little Bear Cubs?" I asked them. They both looked up at me filled with curiosity.

"No." They both said as I smiled at them.

"Then why don't I tell you." I said as I got up and looked at a toy chair with a beat up bear on it.

"Would you boys mind if I moved the bear to sit in the chair?" I asked them as I went over.

"No wait! That's Leviathans. He doesn't like his bear touched." Duke suddenly shouted out. I sighed, getting a bit annoyed by this, and turned to look at them,

"Alright. I'll ask Leviathan if I'm allowed to move it. Well Leviathan? May I?" I asked loud enough for anyone in the room to hear. I heard nothing.

"Well? May I or may I not?" I asked again as I looked at both boys for an answer. Their eyes were wide and I tilted my head a bit at them.

"Carefully." I heard a tiny whisper as I quickly looked behind me and all around to find nothing and no one there.

"You heard him too?" Luke suddenly asked me.

"I-I think I did." I said as I shook this feeling away. I'm imagining things and it needs to stop. I continued to play along though, out of spite and curiosity, and gently moved the bear before I moved the chair to face them.

"Alright, Now to tell you the tale of Red Riding Hood and the Three Bear Cubs." I said as they leaned forward. Both were eager to listen to this untold tale.

 _"_ _Once upon a time there was a young woman named Red Riding Hood. The same Red Riding Hood who had faced the wolf in the woods. She was now a young woman and lived in a new town with a new forest near by. She was nicknamed red, not just for the red cape she still wore, but because of her light red hair as well._

 _She would often go near the woods, for she would find animals that were hurt, and take care of them in her little home outside of the village. The villagers would say she was weird or warn her of how dangerous it was. Even her cousin in town, the village paper writer, would warn her of the strange and weird things he would hear there. She paid no mind though. Why would she?_

 _One day she went out near the woods to find any new friend to care for when she heard two cries. She wondered into the woods to find two little bear cubs, crying and holding each other. Red felt a pang in her heart as she went up to the bear cubs. At first they growled and swatted at her. After convincing them she was their friend and even fed them cookies she had they agreed to let her take them to her home to help them._

 _They called themselves Landon and Duncan. Landon was shy but Duncan was bold. When she brought them home Landon mentioned they had a brother. Red was surprised to hear of a third cub while Duncan said his name was Levi. Red wanted to find the cub but they both told Red that he would be here soon. Red was worried but still took care of both cubs._

 _While the cubs of brown were there weird things would happen. Things would get moved or food would be eaten and sometimes things would break. Both Landon and Duncan had said it was Levi but she never once saw him. Red was never mad though. She felt they told the truth._

 _One day she asked if she could meet Levi. Both cubs seemed scared and she didn't know why._

 _"Levi is different from us." Landon told her._

 _"Oh. How so?" She asked._

 _"Levi doesn't like people. He says they're bad." Landon said as he scrunched back._

 _"Am I mean though?" Red asked them both._

 _"No. That's why Levi likes you." Duncan chimed in as Red smiled._

 _"Then why doesn't he come out? I'd like to meet him." Red said as she pushed the two cubs into agreeing to meet Levi the third mysterious cub she had been hearing and caring for without seeing. So that night she had fed the cubs some delicious meat and tucked them into bed._

 _"Levi's outside waiting for you." Landon said with a yawn._

 _"He waits to see you Red." Duncan commented after his yawn. Once both cubs were asleep she went outside her home. She looked and looked but saw no cub._

 _"Maybe he's afraid?" Red wondered to herself as she stepped further outside."_

I had stopped the story when I saw both twins had nodded off. They looked so cute.

"We'll finish next time boys." I said as I ticked them in and moved the chair back. I noticed the toy bear was gone. Strange. Thinking it fell I looked under the toy table and saw nothing. I stood up and shrugged. I went to the door when I stopped and looked back at the sleeping twins. I smiled.

"Maybe someday I can be a mom." I mumbled to myself as I turned off the light and gently closed the door. Now the parents came home and were happy to see everything was better than fine. They liked me and wanted me to help Betty out again soon.

"Why don't you two watch them again tomorrow night? We could use another night to ourselves. Only for a couple hours." She commented.

"Oh sorry but I can't tomorrow night." Betty told her.

"I can move my plans around. If it's only for a couple hours then I don't mind." I told them with a smile. Now Betty dropped me off at home and I sighed. I made $35 for the night and I was happy about that. I went to my room and put my money away before I went to the bathroom to shower and change. I got back in my room and saw something that made me freeze in fear. A teddy bear was on my bed. Not just any teddy bear. The same one that was 'Leviathan's' toy bear. I saw it was holding a note. I cautiously went over and grabbed the note to read.

 _'I'm glad you're interested in me. I can't wait_ _to hear the rest of the story. See you_ _next time Red. ~Leviathan.'_ I started shaking a bit. I was officially scared now. I looked at the bear as it's doll eyes stared back at me. I gently but quickly moved the bear off my bed and put it in the corner of my room on my small desk facing away from me. I needed sleep and no scary unknown thing with a teddy bear was going to stop me from sleeping. I laid in bed and eventually fell asleep. I was unaware of the eyes that watched me sleep and the hand that gently stroked my hair while I slept.

"Soon Red. Soon." The voice whispered in a raspy tone as I slept on.


	27. Chapter 26

Chapter 26: Teddy Bears and Sacrifices!

*Aria's POV*

I had a dream of blue eyes watching me and stroking my hair. There were some points where I was being hugged from behind. The dream felt so real and it kept bothering me. I saw my closet door opened and got up to close it. I stretched and saw an outfit folded up on my desk with the creepy beat up bear on it. I went over and looked at it. It was my jean shorts, all clean, and my shirt with the French words on it.

"Why are these out?" I questioned as I also say my bangles and my one circle one square hooped earrings.

"Uhg." I muttered as I decided to wear them for the day. I went into the bathroom to change and put on makeup. Once I did that I started walking back into my room, while brushing my hair, so I can grab the bear to bring back. I walked in and saw it still on the desk.

"Why is this here anyways?" I asked myself as I walked over to the bear.

"How strange." I muttered as I decided to try and put my hair up.

"Maybe I should get a mirror in here." I mumbled to myself as I tossed my hair in a ponytail.

"I like that." I heard a raspy male voice behind me say. I whipped my head around to see nothing there.

"Of course nothings there." I muttered as I sighed in annoyance. Then I heard a knock.

"Who is it?" I asked.

"It's Archie. Can I come in?" I heard Archie ask.

"Sure." I told him as he walked inside.

"Where'd you get the bear?" He asked me as I looked at him.

"Hey Archie? Would you believe me if I told you these twins I'm babysitting had an imaginary friend who might not be so imaginary?" I randomly asked him.

"Well normally no. But when it comes to us and this town how can I _not_ believe it. Why? Is it a ghost or something?" Archie asked me as he started to get hyped up.

"I don't know Archie. I'm worried now because I'm hearing things and had a weird dream last night that felt so real. I'm actually starting to get really scared. And you and I both know that it's hard for me to get scared." I told him as he looked at me.

"Hey I know! Doctor Beumont's shop! If he's in then maybe he can help!" Archie exclaimed as I smiled at him. I hadn't physically met him or entered his shop yet but I want to. Perfect excuse.

"Sure! Sounds fun anyways!" I said as I grabbed the bear and headed down the stairs.

"By the way. Why are you wearing that?" He asked in reference to my outfit.

"Oh! Well one I'm babysitting tonight and Two would you believe they were folded under the bear as if they were picked out?" I told him and asked him as I grabbed my bag and walked out the door with him.

"Are you serious?!" He nearly shouted.

"I'll tell you more in the car. In fact I'll tell you everything so if I am going crazy you'll help me with that." I told him as we got in the car and I explained everything to him and how Betty didn't believe me and also how she didn't see a thing while I was there. Back in my room I didn't know someone was sitting on my bed.

"It's not nice to tell other's secrets." It whispered in a raspy voice before it went into the closet and disappeared. Archie and I made it to the shop and when I got in there I liked it. I wanted to roam around but Archie pulled me to where Doctor Beaumont was.

"Hello again Archie Andrews. And finally nice to see you here Aria Andrews." He said as I tried not to gawk.

"I'd be asking a bunch of questions but I need to get to the point. I think these twins I'm watching have an imaginary friend who's not as imaginary as Betty or their parents think." I flat out told him.

"And why do you suppose that is?" He asked me.

"Well for one thing I've heard plates and glass cups sliding against either counter top or the floor. 2. I felt breathing on my neck. 3. noises and a voice in my ear but when I look no one is there. 4. both boys can see and talk to him, and yes it is a he, and one twin said something that he couldn't have known because he was upstairs with Betty and I was watching the other twin. 5. Things getting moved and food being eaten. 6. A teddy bear, that supposedly belongs to the friend, showed up in my room. 7. I kept dreaming all last night about the friend and it felt extremely real. And 8. My clothes were picked out for the day and folded under the bear. I'm getting super freaked out Dr. Beaumont. I mean to a point of slight paranoia." I explained to him as he rubbed his tiny beard and listened carefully.

"Do you have the bear on you now?" He asked me.

"Yeah. I do." I said as I pulled it out of my bag and handed him the bear.

"The boy's told me not to touch it and that it was his. I asked to move it and I heard a voice whisper carefully. I'm not imagining this…..Am I?" I asked him as I seriously started doubting my sanity. He was looking over the bear and then at me.

"I believe you Miss Andrews." He told me as I smiled and sighed in relief.

"That's reassuring. And Aria please." I said as I told him he can call me Aria.

"Have you done _anything_ to catch his attention?" He suddenly asked me.

"Do I need to tell you about the whole 4 hours I was there? Because I don't want to unless need be." I said with a groan.

"Perhaps that would be best." He said as I groaned again.

"Archie! If we're going to be here then here's $20. Can you go to Pop's and get me food? Get yourself something too." I told him as I handed him the $20.

"Alright sure." He said as he took the $20 and left. Dr. Beaumont and I took a seat and I explained everything from the moment Betty and I arrived to the moment Archie and I left to come here.

"Hm. So in other words you fed him? Listened to him? Acknowledged his presence? Treated him as if he were real? Noticed his actions and words? And even then you did not once say it wasn't real?" He asked me all these questions.

"Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. And Yes. Also why would I think it's not real. All the evidence proves it's real. He lives in their closet and I guess can use the closets to move around. What is so hard to understand about that?" I answered and then questioned him with the annoyance that grew in my voice.

"Then it seems to me that this creature has taken some interest in you for one reason or another." He told me as I sighed in aggravation.

"Hm. Stay right here a moment." He said as he got up and went over to his books. I was just tapping my finger on the table.

"Maybe this was a dumb idea." I muttered and then sighed.

"Do you hate me?" I heard a raspy whisper. I bolted my head around the room but saw nothing.

"L-Leviathan?" I asked barely above a whisper. I had no response.

"I don't know if I hate you or not. I-I'm just looking to see if you'd hurt anyone." I said as I then heard a chuckle.

"Why care? No one cared about you." I heard the voice whisper again.

"Archie cared. After so long he finally convinced my aunt and uncle to take me in. If any of them had even a clue what happened then they would've got me out sooner." I whispered to the voice. I got no response.

"You're not going to hurt the twins are you?" I asked him with worry in my voice.

"Why would it matter?" He asked me.

"It does matter. They're just children." I scolded him. He chuckled.

"I don't hurt my friends. I was using them to continue living there. Although with you. Your _different._ " He whispered and the different part right in my ear. I didn't even bother to look around this time.

"Different? How?" I asked in question. I didn't realize I asked barely loud enough for Dr. Beaumont to question himself and take a peak at where he left me.

"You've been alone for a long time. So was I." He whispered in my ear.

"The twins weren't alone." I said to him as he chuckled.

"In a way they were. Their parents can't tell who is who, teachers mix them up all the time, and they get picked on for it." He whispered to me.

"What about Betty? She cares for them." I told him as I heard him growl.

"Betty is a horrible blonde. She can't always tell them apart, scolds them non-stop, and doesn't even listen to them about me." He said as I thought about it.

"She tries though. It's hard when they won't tell you who is who." I said to him.

"But you can." He told me.

"I've been getting lucky." I confessed as he chuckled.

"I doubt that. Even so you listen. Whether you thought I was fake or not you still played along. You slowly noticed me. You even started to listen to me. Betty never could. Not even the boy's parents. It's nice actually." He told me with a small chuckle.

"So you're just lonely?" I asked him.

"Yes. Only the twins can see and hear me. They're nice but I want older friends. Then you walked in and changed everything." He told me.

"Are you afraid?" He suddenly asked me.

"Why does that matter? I don't want anyone hurt." I told him as he chuckled.

"You're a kind girl. You don't know the twins well and yet you're willing to protect them? And their parents?" He asked me as if he was actually curious about me.

"Of course. They're children. And their parents love them. They just never expected twins I'm sure." I told him in a rational way. I could feel my hair being stroked.

"I can feel your pain. All of the pain you have bottled up. The twins felt pain of not being told apart. But you came in. Now they feel less pain." He said as he continued stroking my hair.

"So you live off pain?" I asked him.

"Not really. I try to relieve pain. Yours seems hard to relieve though. You still feel it but you've come to terms with it. It's almost as if you've accepted it." He told me.

"I have. The past is in the past. We can only learn from it. We learn so as to not make the same mistakes again and to better our future." I told him in a serious and educated tone. He just chuckled.

"I agree. But you see, some do not learn nor change. That's why you intrigue me. I can feel the pain you've been through. If I wanted to I could look into your pretty little head and see what pain it holds. But I won't. Not yet. I'm enjoying this for now." He whispered as I could feel and hear his heavy breaths in my ear. He was still stroking my hair when I felt a hand on my arm. It felt long, bony, and had sharp claw like nails. I shuttered at the touch.

"Please don't hurt them." I whispered as I felt his malice on me.

"What makes you think I will?" He suddenly asked me. I had no real answer why but I could feel it.

"Don't you trust me?" He whispered.

"How can I? I don't know what you are. I can feel you like to hurt people though. Almost as if you enjoy making them fight and hurt each other." I said in a firm voice. I suddenly heard chuckling.

"I'm just a lost soul looking for something missing in my eternal life." He told me.

"Can you tell me more about you then?" I asked him.

"You don't trust me but you want to know more?" He asked me in a mocking shocked tone.

"If I can help protect those twins and help you find peace then I need to know." I told him.

"And what if I don't want to leave?" He suddenly asked me.

"You're going to have too sometime." I told him.

"Maybe I don't wanna." He pouted. He sounded like a child for a moment.

"Leviathan. Are you a ghost?" I asked him as I grew curious.

"Yes." He said proudly.

"Can you shape shift?" I asked him.

"Would you like me too?" He asked me.

"I-" I started to say when I heard him laugh lightly.

"That would be fun. Maybe we can play that game?" He suddenly asked me.

"Are you-" I was going to ask but then Doctor Beaumont entered in a rush and held up an amulet.

"Begone Spirit!" He yelled loudly. It glowed lightly and I heard a hiss before I felt a pain on my left arm and then nothing. He was gone.

"I'm so sorry about that Aria but what I saw was something dangerous." He told me as I still had my eyes closed from the light.

"He said he was a ghost and that he could shape shift. I was going to try and find out who he was until you did that. If it brings him peace then I have to know." I said as I tried to get my vision back.

"I'm sorry but I saw him as a shadow that looked like he would hurt you. This amulet did prove he is in fact a ghost and not a demon." He told me as I gained my vision back. I saw a beautiful pendant that looked to be two on a chain. It was silver and both pendants were in the shape of ravens. One had blue gem eyes while the other had green gem eyes. I was intrigued by them as he put the pendants on me.

"Keep this on you at all times. It will protect you from harm against him." He told me as I looked at him.

"I don't think he'll hurt me though." I said as I rubbed the now light bruise on my left arm.

"This was an accident." I added in a soft voice as I looked at the bruise.

"Perhaps. But next time might not be. Don't accept any deals he gives you nor gifts. He's trying to trick and trap you. Be on your guard. Ghosts are very tricky." He said just as Archie came inside.

"Aria. I've got your GOOD GRACIOUS!" He suddenly yelled as I looked behind me and saw a small mess.

"Oh. That." I muttered.

"It's alright Archie. She was being haunted and I temporarily stopped it. Seems she was correct about a ghost haunting the twins." Doctor Beaumont informed Archie.

"Do you need help cleaning up?" I asked as I put the bear back in my bag.

"No no. You need to start preparing to fight the ghost off and away from those kids." Doctor Beaumont said as he put a small list together of what needs to be done. He explained the small stuff like, even though sage doesn't work all the time, to use it to see how strong the ghost is, salt circles to keep safe and the pendants for no harm.

"How am I going to get rid of it though?" I asked him.

"For now you can attach it to the bear then bring it to my shop after. We'll figure it out then." He told me as he told me how to do so.

"What do I owe you?" I told him.

"Don't worry about that yet. For now prepare yourself Aria." He told me as I nodded. Archie and I left the shop and ended up in the car.

"What happened?" Archie asked as I told him everything.

"Oh man! I need to see this." He told me.

"Sorry Archie. Mrs. Donavon doesn't like you." I said as he groaned.

"Seriously? Still?" He asked me. "What did you do to make her not like you?" I asked him.

"I'd rather not." He muttered as I looked at him.

"I'll just ask Betty or Jughead." I said as he groaned again. I ate up my burgers, that I was grateful to have, as we went home and I got ready for my make up date with Jughead. He didn't like that I postponed it but he was fine with the reason why and was happy I was earning some money. Jughead and I were going to watch 'Frankenstein Vs. The Wolfman' here and just cuddle. Archie was going over to Betty's to talk to her about this case and what not. I ran upstairs to my room and looked around for the coupon I found on a 2 for 1 pizza deal.

"I don't like that Doctor." I heard as I stopped.

"He wants me gone. I don't wanna leave! I don't wanna!" I heard the same voice except it was sounding more and more like a child. Not just the attitude but the pitch of the voice was slowly turning into one.

"Leviathan I'm sorry he did that. I didn't know he would do that to you. You scared him was all." I said as I looked around but found nothing.

"I don't care." I heard him mutter as I looked at my closet.

"He was scared you would hurt me." I said as I went over to the closet.

"I wouldn't though." He said in a childish tone. I sat in front of my closet and continued to talk to him.

"I know that. I also know you didn't mean to bruise my arm. I know it was an accident." I said to him as I became unaware of Archie and Betty behind my door about to ask me something.

"Are you mad?" He rasped out in a whisper.

"No. No I'm not mad. It was an accident. You didn't mean to hurt me or to make a mess in his shop." I said to my open closet door. Archie was peeking in and seeing this.

"Can we still be friends? Or do you want me gone?" He asked me.

"I don't mind being your friend but I don't want you at the twins house anymore. I don't want them hurt." I told him.

"You still think I would hurt them?" He asked me.

"Yes. I know you feed off of negativity and pain. You're using the twins neglected feelings to stay there. Because they're young you might end up accidentally hurting them or their parents." I said to him.

"I won't hurt them. I don't like their parents. They don't love them." He said to me.

"That's not true. Twins are a handful. Please don't hurt them Leviathan. They're good people." I said to him.

"And I'm not?" He asked me.

"I think you are." I told him. There was silence for a while.

"How can you tell?" He suddenly asked me.

"If you weren't good you would've hurt Betty sooner or the parents. You would've done something to get the twins hurt intentionally. You could've even hurt me many times and didn't. I feel like you're a good soul just trapped where you shouldn't be." I told him. I was met with silence for a while longer.

"I was murdered." He whispered to me.

"What?" I questioned.

"Yes. I'm not allowed to rest until someone finds me. But I was found. I still can't rest. I don't know why." He told me.

"How old were you when you died? Do you know how long ago that was?" I asked him. I needed to know. Maybe jogging his memory would help.

"I don't know. I don't when I died. It scares me. It scares me a lot." He rasped out as he, again, went child like.

"Do you know what you look like?" I asked him.

"Yes. I haven't gone into my true form in so long. Not even the twins like it." He told me.

"I want to help. Can you show me?" I asked him.

"You'll send me away." He told me.

"No I wouldn't. Not unless you wanted to cross over. I'm sure there is someone waiting for you." I told him as I tried to reassure him.

"No one cared. Why should you?" He asked me.

"I know the feeling of loneliness you know that." I told him.

"Would you leave if you thought someone was waiting for you?" He suddenly asked me.

"If it was someone I knew and loved then yes. Of course." I said to him.

"What if it meant leaving others behind?" He asked me.

"If it was my time and I knew they would be fine then yes." I said to him. Silence once more.

"What if….I don't want to go alone?" He suddenly asked me. I didn't know how to respond to that.

"I don't want to go alone. I want to be with someone." He told me.

"I want to help." I told him.

"Then don't let me go alone." He told me as I saw blue eyes look at me. They were filled with sadness and fear.

"How can I help?" I said as I leaned closer to look at him.

"Your kindness and happiness is strong but matches evenly with your sadness and pain." He told me.

"How?" He asked me.

"I look for the good in people. Some might not have it bu others do. I can see your blue eyes and I can see the loneliness and fear in them. But I can also see the good in them. Please let me see you. Please let me help." I said as I got closer.

"Not with those on." He said as he disappeared.

"Wait!" I shouted as Archie and Betty busted in through the door.

"What's happening?" Archie shouted as I fell forward and barely caught myself.

"N-nothing." I stuttered out.

"What's going on? Why were you talking to yourself?" Betty asked me.

"How long where you two out there?" I asked them as I started to get mad. Did he leave because of them?

"Does it matter? You were talking to yourself anyways." Archie told me.

"Wait? You didn't hear-" I started to ask but stopped myself.

"Hear what?" Archie asked.

"All we heard was you talking to yourself." Betty said. They couldn't hear him. Selective hearing maybe.

"Never mind. What did you want?" I said as I calmed myself down a bit.

"Well we were going to ask if you needed help with tonight." Archie told me.

"No. Just be ready to pick me up after I'm done babysitting." I said to him. I then pushed them out and closed the door. I looked around and saw nothing and heard nothing. I grabbed my stuff and ran downstairs.

"Hey Ari-ah!" Jughead started to say but I grabbed him and walked out the door in a small huff. I couldn't have Jughead there with Leviathan hanging around. It was too risky.

"What's wrong?" Jughead said as I let him go.

"I'm sorry Jughead. I, well, I." I started to say but I didn't know how to word it.

"Did Archie upset you?" He asked me.

"A little. It's not just that though." I said to him.

"What is it?" He asked me.

"Just a weird mystery I'm trying to solve. No biggie. I also figured we could go to the arcade anyways. I found a half off coupon in the paper for the arcade." I told him as I pulled it out and showed him.

"Cool. So we could use that and skip the pizza?" He asked as I nodded.

"Pop's after though." I said with a smile.

"Sure." He said as he put an arm around me. We went to the arcade and had a great time. I decided to save my tickets for the bigger prizes. We enjoyed Pop's and after he decided to walk me to the twins house.

"So does the weird mystery have to deal with the twins?" He asked me.

"No. Not exactly them. It's a bit complicated. I'd rather not talk about it." I told him.

"Alright. Want me to pick you up?" He asked me.

"That's sweet but Archie's picking me up." I told him.

"Oh. Well maybe I can tag along with him." He said as I smiled at him.

"I'm sure you can." I said with a smile. We got to the house and he kissed my cheek before walking off.

"Call me if there's trouble." Jughead said as he turned half way to me and waved while walking off.

"I will." I said as I waved him off. I smiled and sighed as I went to the house. No sooner had I knocked did Mrs. Donavon pull me inside. I yelped at the sudden motion and saw the twins were having a fit while Mr. Donavon tried to stop it.

"Thank goodness you're here Aria. The boys keep yelling it was Leviathan and started a massacre around the house." She told me. If Leviathan was involved then he did do something.

"What exactly happened." I said to her rather than asked.

"Their room was completely destroyed and we yelled at them about it. Then we heard noises and they started a tantrum." She told me.

"Mrs. Donavon I'll handle this. Go out for a while." I assured her as I ran to the boys. Once they saw me they stopped and immediately hugged me.

"We're sorry!" Luke yelled out.

"We didn't do it!" Duke shouted after as they held me tighter. I just smiled and rubbed their backs.

"It's alright. I'm not mad." I said to them.

"About time." Mr. Donavon said as I sighed.

"Aria are you sure you've got this?" Mrs. Donavon asked me.

"Yes I'm sure. Everything will be better after you come back." I assured her. Soon they left and I looked at both boys.

"Did Leviathan throw a tantrum?" I asked them. They both nodded.

"I see. Well why don't I help you clean up? We can watch a movie after." I said to them as they nodded. I went up to their room and saw the huge mess. Even the beds were moved. There was no way these boys did this. It took longer than we thought but we cleaned the room up.

"Why bother helping them?" We heard Leviathan ask.

"You made the mess. You should've cleaned it up instead of us. Why did you throw a tantrum?" I asked him.

"They won't play with me." he said as the closet door creaked open a little bit.

"He wants us to go with him. To follow him." Luke said.

"Yeah. He doesn't want to be alone and said we could play forever. But he wants us away from mom and dad." Duke said to me.

"Shut up." Leviathan yelled.

"Enough. Leviathan you can't take them with you!" I scolded him.

"Why not?" He asked me.

"Because you can't." I told him.

"I DON'T WANT TO BE ALONE!" He shouted as things were being tossed around. I tried to make a salt circle but it kept getting destroyed.

"I DON'T WANT TO BE ALONE ANYMORE!" He shouted as Luke then started getting dragged to the closet.

"ARIA!" Luke shouted with tears.

"Stay here Duke!" And kept him in a corner as I grabbed Luke. I saw a shadow of a hand holding him. I grabbed it and Leviathan screamed as the hand vanished away. I Held Luke close to me as I went over to Duke and sheltered them both.

"I DON'T WANT TO BE ALONE! NOT ANYMORE! I HATE BEING ALONE!" He shouted as I felt him near me.

"Aria!" Both boys cried but I heard a shriek. I looked over and saw a giant shadow of a man with huge claws and blue eyes looking at me.

"GIVE THEM TO ME!" He shouted. The pendants! He can't touch me and while I'm holding the boys he can't hurt them either.

"LEVIATHAN STOP!" I shouted at him. The wind inside slowly died down to a light breeze.

"Why? You want me gone! And so do they!" He shouted.

"I don't want you here near them! You're hurting and scaring them! You need to cross over! Someone might be waiting for you!" I told him.

"And what if no one is? I'll be alone again. I don't want to be ALONE!" He shouted as the wind picked up a bit before dying back down.

"You can't keep doing this!" I shouted as the lights flickered.

"Aria!" I heard Archie yell.

"Miss Andrews! What's going on!" Mrs. Donavon's voice shouted out. Right when she and Betty were at the door, and could see everything except most likely Leviathan, the door slammed shut and was locked.

"They don't care! They don't!" He shouted.

"They do care!" I yelled at him.

"Not for the boys!" He shouted.

"You do! And I do too. They don't!" He shouted.

"That's not true and you know it! You're acting like a-" I started shouting but stopped. Like a child! It made sense now.

"Leviathan. Are you, a child?" I asked softly. Things in the room stopped moving but the wind was still there.

"How old?" I asked him. Then the shadow disappeared and soon a small child was there, holding the bear that was now out of my bag, and looked at me. He had very light brown hair and blue eyes. He also had a huge gash on his head. A gunshot wound.

"8." He whispered to me in a child like voice.

"I thought my mommy loved me too. But she didn't. She took a gun and shot me. My mommy was a beautiful blonde who was loved by many. She killed me and ran off. Now I'm alone." He said to me as I saw him start to cry. My heart started to break right then and there.

"Luke and Duke saw me and wanted to be my friend. I wanted friends so badly. I didn't know I was hurting anyone. But don't send me away. Please. I don't wanna be alone. I'll be good! I promise!" He told me as he fell to his knees and cried some more.

"My anger and loneliness makes me morph and I say things that I've heard adults say. I never meant to scare anyone." He said as the tears flowed down.

I took the pendants off me and gave one to each twin.

"Stay here." I whispered to them as I got up and went to Leviathan. I sat down and held him close to me.

"Don't cry. I don't like that. No one wants you to be alone." I told him. He looked at me.

"I don't want to leave. Not alone." He told me. I looked at the scared boys as we heard everyone try to break the door down.

"Can you come with me? Not all the way but at least show me? Just to make sure?" He asked me.

"Is that the only way you won't hurt anyone?" I asked him. He nodded his head.

"Alright." I told him. I held his hand as he started to take me to the closet.

"Aria!"

"Don't go!" Luke and Duke shouted. I turned to them and smiled lightly.

"I'll be back. You're safe now." I said with a smile. I walked to the closet and just when the door was busted open I was gone. I didn't know what was happening. I was surrounded by darkness. I felt a hand and saw Leviathan looking at me.

"Where are we?" I asked him.

"My home." He said to me.

"Why is it so dark?" I asked him.

"Because I'm alone. Because I can't remember much." He told me. He then snapped his fingers and we soon appeared in a small room. I looked around.

"I remember my room and my house. I don't remember what year it is though. I feel like it's June though." He told me as I looked around the room. It was dull and held very little toys. There was a window in the room. I went to the window and saw an abyss of nothingness.

"I wouldn't go outside. It's not safe." He told me as I looked at him.

"Where exactly are we?" I asked him.

"A realm between life and death. An abyss I suppose." He told me as I looked at him.

"Why here?" I asked him.

"I want you here with me. I don't want to go. I've decided I want you as my mother!" He told me as he ran up to me and hugged me.

"What?" I asked him.

"I want you as a mother! You said 'I hope someday I can be a mom.' And now you are!" He told me with a smile on his face.

"No sweetie. I can't be your mother. That's not what we agreed." I told him as he pouted.

"What if I'm alone there? I don't want to be alone." He told me with a pout.

"Sweetie I can't stay here." I told him.

"Do you hate me?" He asked me. I bent down and looked at him.

"No. No no no. I don't hate you. But we both don't belong here." I told him as I tried to explain this to him.

*Third POV*

Luke and Duke where in the corner, were Aria had left them, crying and scared. Mrs. Donavon ran to them while Betty assisted and explained what Aria had tried to warn her about and what Archie filled her in on. Archie and Jughead, who tagged along to pick Aria up, ran to the closet while Mr. Donavon looked around and saw no trace of anyone.

"I can't believe he was real." Mr. Donavon said loudly while he went to Betty and Mrs. Donavon to see the twins.

"He wanted us to go with him." Luke cried out.

"But Aria went with him instead of us." Duke said as he, too, cried harder.

"She protected them." Betty said in shock.

"I found her!" Archie yelled as he and Jughead carried her out of the closet. She was limp and not responding.

"I'll call the hospital!" Betty shouted as she ran down stairs to get the phone. Archie and Jughead laid her down and, while Archie held her upper body, Jughead let go and looked at her.

"What's wrong with her?" Jughead asked.

"I don't know Jughead. She's breathing but that's it." Archie said as he grew worried about her.

"Archie. I'll hold her. Go drive to Doctor Beaumont's. Get him to the hospital and see what he can do." Jughead told Archie. Archie was shocked that Jughead was taking charge like this but he knew he was right and agreed. Soon Archie was in his car and on his way to get Doctor Beaumont while Betty made her way up the stairs.

"They'll be here in 5 minutes." Betty shouted out.

"Good. Call Dilton. He needs to know as well." Jughead said to her while she complied. While she was telling him what happened and to hurry over Jughead held Aria close to him.

"Can you hear me? Please say something." Jughead said as she showed no response what so ever.

"Please. Show me you're still there." Jughead begged as Aria still made no motion except the light rising and falling of her chest to show she was still breathing. They all heard the sirens as soon the medics entered the room. They put Aria on the stretcher as others put the twins on the bed to examine them when the stretcher was lifted Aria's head tilted to the side to see the boys. Her dull eyes gazed at them as they cried. There was a sparkle in her eye to show that she knew they were fine as she was then wheeled her out of the room, down the stairs, and outside to the ambulance. Dilton soon arrived just as Jughead came outside.

"Is she alright?" Dilton asked.

"She's not responding but she's breathing." Jughead told him as they were allowed to ride in the ambulance with her. Both boys were watching her, watching the iv be put in her, watching the clip be put on her finger, watching the mask be put on her to make sure she gets air, watching her breathe lightly as her dull eyes looked up at the ceiling. They had no idea what to do nor any idea what was happening to her. Inside the mind of Aria she watched Leviathan as he looked ready to cry.

"Leviathan it's not my time to leave yet." She told him as he looked at her.

"You're still alive. You're just in a coma. You can stay like that until it's time. Then we can stay together forever." Leviathan said as he was trying not to cry.

"Leviathan let me help you. I'll take you too the light where you need to go. If someone is there then you can go. If not then I still need to wake up. I'll let you stay with me but I can't stay here." Aria said as she tried to compromise with the small boy.

"You will?" He asked her as she nodded her head.

"Then we should go." Leviathan said as he took her hand and helped her stand up. Meanwhile in the hospital Aria's body was in a bed and the doctors had closed her eyes so she could rest better.Archie arrived with Doctor Beaumont to see the Donavon's, including the twins, at the end of the bed, Betty was with them as well with her arms around herself, Jughead and Dilton were sitting in a couple chairs right next to her, waiting and comforting her, and a doctor talking to Mary and Fred Andrews before everyone stopped and looked at Archie and Doctor Beaumont.

"He can help." Archie said as Doctor Beaumont walked over to Aria. He then held a weird orb, big enough to hold in one hand and the size of a baseball, over her as it began to glow.

"She is still alive and in a limbo of sorts. She hasn't crossed over so she can make it back." He said as an image of her hugging a small boy came into view.

"That's Leviathan!" The twins shouted in sink when they saw the boy.

"Wait. Leviathan is a child?" Betty said in shock.

"It appears so. I can not hear them but if she doesn't hurry and get out of there then she will be in grave danger." Doctor Beaumont explained.

"What kind of danger?" Mr. Andrews asked him.

"There are many spirits that will try to take her body over, leaving her lost forever, or even demons that will trap her soul and use her body for there pleasure and evil deeds." Doctor Beaumont explained while Mrs. Andrews gasped.

"Is there any way we can help her?" Archie asked.

"Please! I might be a man of science but please help her." Dilton cried out.

"Please! Anything!" Jughead shouted after words.

"For now we must make a protective barrier around her body." Doctor Beaumont explained as they got to work using white candles and salt circles to help protect her body from other spirits and demons. While the orb laid on her all they could do was watch her.

"You ready to try?" Aria asked the now calmed down Leviathan as he nodded his head.

"Then do you know how to find the light?" Aria asked him.

"Well, When I follow bad memories it leads me to you and the twins." He told her.

"So perhaps good memories would help you pass on?" She questioned the theory.

"I suppose." He said as she smiled. "I'd like to see the happy times you had." She said as he smiled.

"Then I'll how you all of them!" He said as he grabbed her hand and lead her out his bedroom door. Soon they entered a memory for him.

"I remember this. I was three when I got my first tricycle." He exclaimed as he ran over to his mom, as she saw a three year old him, as he went to the little red tricycle and rand the bell before riding it around with balloons attached to it.

"The woman is my mom! Well…..was." He said as the memory faded and turned into a dark night.

"No. Sweetie don't think of that night. Think good things." Aria said to comfort him.

"I'm not doing this! This isn't my memory!" He suddenly shouted.

"Leviathan! Where are you?" Aria shouted as she searched for him. Something felt off.

"What's happening?" Jughead asked as fear and worry sprang up.

"She's in danger!" Doctor Beaumont stated in fear. Aria had no idea as she then opened a closet door. Bad idea. Inside lurked a demon with red eyes, sharp claws and fangs along with red and blue marking on his face. Aria shrieked as the demon lunged at her. She, out of reflex, kicked the demon and shut the door on it.

"Aria!" Leviathan shouted as he grabbed her hand and lead her out of there. After running through the dark halls, with the demon right behind them, they made it to a very small door and barely made it through. Now it was bright and they were at a river bank. While others in the real world, Veronica, Pops, Reggie, Collins, Tyler, Tyrone, Geoff, Jimmy, Ronin, Midge, Moose, and Big Ethel, after hearing the news and rushed over, piled in to see there friend in that state and watch through the orb at her and could finally hear, Aria looked around and soon recognized this river.

"I know this river. It looks different though." Aria said as Leviathan brightened up.

"I remember this river too. My friend and I used to swim here before he moved away." He said as he then ran into the river with a boy, about 5, as they swan together.

"I was 6 and he was 5. He was my best friend!" Leviathan shouted with glee. Aria made herself comfortable by the edge of the river near a tree, completely forgetting of the dangers, as a smile grew on her face.

"What was his name?" She asked the laughing boy.

"Joseph Mantle!" He shouted as he swam up to her.

"Wait! Mantle?" Archie nearly shouted.

"Oh yeah. I had a 2nd great grandfather named Joseph. I remember seeing a picture of that boy with him. He moved back when he was in his 20's and even helped to get him a headstone." Reggie explained this. Aria held the boy in a hug as he brought her to another memory.

"This is when I learned how to ride a bike! I was 6 years old!" Leviathan shouted with glee as he started to rid a sliver bike around. It was old fashioned but usable. He was suddenly flung off the bike.

"Leviathan!" Aria shouted as she went to him. She felt something grab her and pull her away. She looked and saw a creepy nurse ghost with a needle in her hand. Aria struggled as she felt the needle pierce her flesh. Before it could be put into a vein and injected Aria punched the nurse, making her let go of both Aria and the needle, as Aria ran. She ripped the needle out of her and ran.

"Leviathan! Leviathan sweetie where are you!" She shouted desperately as the darkness seemed to be crashing around her. She could see blurs of color and hear whispers, laughter, growls, and roars as she grew fearful.

"Aria!" Leviathan shouted as he grabbed her hand and soon had her through another door. Another good memory. Aria looked and saw she was actually hurt.

"It seems I _can_ get hurt here." She said as she came to that conclusion.

"It's because your body and soul are still connected." Leviathan explained.

"We need to hurry." She told him as he nodded. They went through a few good memories before they entered his last one.

"I remember this. This happened the day I died. I won my teddy bear as a prize at the carnival that came to town." He said as he went and won the bear that she had seen before. It wasn't long before the demon they saw before spring out and attack them. They ran. They ran into a fun house where they were being hunted. Everyone in the medical room was afraid for her life but before things got bad Aria and Leviathan found a way through a secret door and soon entered a room of white with a golden gate on the other end.

"Heaven." Aria whispered. Leviathan looked at it and then at her.

"Can you come with me?" He asked her.

"I can't. I'm not ready." She told him.

"Leviathan." He heard a voice. He looked over and saw a man, in his 80's, waiting for him.

"Who are you?" He asked as he clung onto Aria.

"Ah! Right! You don't know what I looked like after I've aged." He said as he glowed and suddenly turned into the 5 year old from the river.

"Joseph? Joseph Mantle?" Leviathan asked him.

"Yeah." He whispered.

"I found out you weren't here but I couldn't go back to get you. I've waited for you for so long." He said as he then reverted to his original old man look.

"You waited?" Leviathan asked him.

"Yes. I never stopped waiting for you. Everyone is hear. Your grandmother is as well." Joseph smiled at him while Leviathan brightened up.

"Grandma's here?" Leviathan asked as Joseph laughed lightly.

"Of course." He said with a smile.

"Now you must let Aria get back to her friend's and family." He said as Leviathan nodded.

"But…..The ghosts and demons." Leviathan said in fear and worry as he looked at Aria before Joseph.

"You now know how to get here. Those things can't stop you from coming here anymore. If you want to guide her back to safety then you may. I can wait a little longer." He said with a smile on his face.

"Aria." He whispered to her.

"The choice is yours." She told him.

"I want to help you home. To say I'm sorry. I caused a lot of trouble, especially for you." He told her.

"I understand why. She said with a smile.

"Do you know how to get back?" Joseph asked her.

"I have to go through all my bad memories right?" She asked the older man.

"Yes. The worst one will be the last one before going back to your body." He told her as she shuttered. Aria didn't want to relive those but if she had to to go back then she would.

"I'll be with you every step of the way." Leviathan told her as he hugged her. She smiled down at him and soon felt the courage to go through with it.

"I just have two questions." Aria said to Joseph.

"1. Can you see a lot of things down on earth?" She asked him.

"Yes only if needed though. Mainly to see the birth of a new family member or to help show a nudge of guidance." He replied.

"Oh. Okay well then my second question is would you happen to be related to Reggie Mantle? He's about my age." Aria asked as he laughed.

"Yes I am. I would be his 2nd great grandfather. It seems, though, the Mantle charm is not so lucky with him." He said as he showed it off. Aria would be sweat dropping if it were an Anime.

"Yup. You're related." She muttered.

"Tell him I said hello." Joseph said to her as she then smiled at the old man.

"I will." She said as they soon left and ended up back where they started. Back in the hospital room Aria's heart beat slowed down and looked like it would stop while the orb showed nothing but light.

"She's at heaven's gate." Doctor Beaumont said as he stopped the doctor from getting help. After a minute her heart went back to normal and the light was gone to see her and the child back where they were before.

"Let's hurry and get you home. I'll cross over when you're safe." They heard Leviathan tell her as Aria smiled at him.


	28. Chapter 27

**Okay peeps. Final part. I know it was long but it was worth it! At least I hope it was. You get a huge look on Aria's past. The key things that were the most painful for her. Anyways enjoy.**

Chapter 27: Following The Painful Path!

*Third Person POV*

Leviathan helped Aria relax before going.

"I've...never really talked much about my past. I suppose we'll start with before I moved here and work backwards to where it all began." Aria said as she sighed.

"I'll be here to help." Leviathan said as she smiled at him. The people in the room watched as they, too, wanted to know how bad Aria had it at home and why she didn't want to go back. Betty knew a little and Mary and Fred knew some while Jughead and Dilton knew a lot. Archie probably knew the most but she had yet to tell everyone everything. Leviathan and Aria went to the door and walked through it. Aria looked around and saw she was in her crummy apartment.

"This was the night before I left for Riverdale." Aria said with a sigh to follow. She walked out the room just in time to see a bottle get thrown at her and ducked.

"You're nothing without us!" My mother yelled at me.

"Mom stop! You're drunk again!" She yelled at her mother. She couldn't stop herself. She had to follow through.

"You constantly cheat on your tests, you break and ruin everything you touch, you're useless. _Useless!_ I'm not sure why you're father and uncle agreed to this but the less I see your sorry excuse of a face the better!" She yelled at Aria.

"Mom calm down." Aria told her Before she ducked and soon the radio her mother threw smashed against the wall instead of her head.

"See? You just made the radio break! Good luck in Riverdale you piece of garbage!" She yelled as she stumbled out the door. Aria held back sadness as everyone in the room saw this.

"How can a mother do that?" Veronica asked in shock. Aria looked around for a door when Leviathan pointed to an open window with a light around it to show the right way. Both of them climbed through just as another sour memory popped up. Her 15th birthday.

"This happened on my birthday." Aria muttered as the memory started with a small cake on the table. She sat down and held the phone to her ear. She heard Archie on the other end.

"Okay. Ready to blow the candles out?" He asked her.

"Yeah." Aria responded with a weak smile.

"Go!" Archie yelled as she blew the candles out.

"I did it." She said with a very weak smile.

"Great. Oh? Huh? Oh sorry Aria. I gotta go." Archie said to her.

"Please don't." She said off script.

"Okay I love you too. Bye." She heard as the phone line was cut off. Aria put the phone down and knew exactly what was going to happen next.

"Aria!" She heard her dad yell.

"What's this? What's with this mess?" He yelled at her.

"It's my birthday dad." She muttered.

"You think I give a damn?" He shouted at her.

"Your mother just told me you broke a kid's arm!" He yelled at her.

"He groped me. I told him to stop and he didn't." She said.

'Slap!'

His hand met her face.

"Maybe if you dressed less like a whore then that wouldn't happen!" He yelled as he then went into her room. She ran after him and tried to stop him as he started ripping most of her nice clothes apart. He slammed her into the wall roughly as she slid down and watched him tear and burn most of her clothes and shoes. Aria started crying at this.

"This is a day you shouldn't have existed!" He yelled as he walked out of her room. Leviathan went up to her and gently held her hand.

"It's alright. They're memories. Once you leave you can make new and better ones." Leviathan said as he guided her to her feet and through her closet door. In the hospital room everyone was stunned at that.

"So that's what she meant by most of her stuff got ruined." Archie commented as everyone started to feel sorrow for her. Soon Aria arrived in a school area.

"Oh no! Not this one. I-I can't!" Aria said as she started shaking.

"I'm right here." Leviathan said as she went over to her next memory. Aria seemed to revert to a younger age, 13, as she walked to the school playground.

"Hey runt." One boy said to her. Soon she was surrounded by a group of boys dressed as thugs. Words were exchanged and soon a fight broke out. Aria fought back with everything she had and ended up drawing blood and breaking bones. Aria was then sent to the principle's office. Skipping to the meeting with my mother there.

"What did my mental daughter do this time?" Her mother said coldly.

"Well your daughter got into another fight with a group of boys." Principle Bullblood said to Aria's mother.

"They started it! I was defending myself! They were going to hurt me!" Aria screamed and defended herself.

"Hush you foolish brat!" Her mother scolded her.

"Now if it wasn't for the fact your daughter has wonderful grades she'd be expelled right now." Principle Bullblood said as if to defend Aria.

"Oh please! We both know she cheats. You should just start failing her because of her cheating." The mother said with a hint of disgust in her voice.

"Perhaps so. She has been doing _too_ good in her classes." Principle Bullblood pointed out.

"I have no reason to cheat!" Aria defended herself.

"Hush! You're mental and stupid beyond all reason! Everyone knows it!" Her mother scolded as they soon left the office. They went home and her mother started her drunk rants and smacked Aria when she smacked her back. Her mother then went into the house and soon her father came out and yelled at her for being mental and having anger issues. He smacked her and when he backhanded her for mouthing back she fell down the stairs.

"I remember I waited here unconscious for a few hours before they finally had me go to the hospital. Nothing broke but I did get hurt real badly. The cops convinced the doctors that it was from a fight with some neighborhood thugs and not my parents." She said as she felt a few tears fall from her face. In the hospital room everyone saw that, much to their horror, as they grew speechless.

"How could those cops not believe her?" Collins shouted in pure anger.

"Aria is not mental nor stupid! She never had to cheat!" Dilton yelled in pure anger. He remembered her telling him this but seeing it was worse.

"How can you make your kid fall down the stairs and then leave them there for a few hours?" Mrs. Donavon yelled in pure disgust.

"I could never do that to my boys." Mr. Donavon commented as he held the twins closer to him.

"What's happening now?" Archie wondered as no memory popped up for her.

"Hello? Leviathan?" Aria asked as she slowly got up.

"He's not here!~" She heard a voice taunt out in a hiss. She looked behind her and was soon face to face with the demon again.

"You again?! Seriously! LEAVE ME ALONE!" She yelled at him as he disappeared and re appeared behind her just to claw her. Aria screeched in pain as she fell and groaned.

"You're sadness if delicious. The pain you've endured! Your body will soon be mine to control!" He yelled as he went to swipe her again. That's when a shadow darted at the demon and fling him back.

"Aria! Run! Find the door! I'll find you later!" Leviathan shouted in his older creepy voice as the injured girl obeyed to the best of her ability and ran to find a door. Her back was on fire and she had no idea what to do or where to go. She suddenly saw a green door that looked like grass as she felt the urge to go to it. Aria heard the demon coming close to her as she bolted to the door and was soon through it. She was panting and gasping for air as she relaxed a little bit. Back in the hospital room Aria's heart rate went rocketing high up before it calmed down when she reached safety. Soon, though, they saw blood leaking from the bed and coming from her back. Soon a small team of doctors swooped in and bandaged her back up. No stitches lucky enough. The doctors allowed them to stay as they saw the ext horrible memory play. Aria was now 12 and in the park. She went over to a bench and sat there.

"I hate this memory." She muttered as Archie and his parent's eyes widened.

"Oh no. This is when she got her scar!" Archie yelled in horror.

"Scar?" Betty questioned.

"What scar?" Veronica asked.

"Aria suffered a burn injury and has a bad scar. It's why she never likes to swim without a tee shirt on." Archie said as he cringed at the memory.

"I only found out a few months ago when Aria fought Vinnie Wells at Pop's." Archie said.

"I remember that. She defended me and the cops came and questioned me to see if it was out of self defense and I admitted it was." Big Ethel said as the scene played out up to the cigarette landing right on her side that was soaked in vodka. Soon the fire started on her as she screamed in pain. Midge covered her mouth as Moose held her close. Betty covered her mouth and looked like she wanted to cry as well as Veronica. Archie and his parents cringed while Big Ethel looked horrified. The Donavon's covered the twins eyes while Pops looked like he was going to be sick. Reggie and the boys looked a mix of horrified and angry. Dilton and Jughead though, they looked the worse. They had a few tears run down their face and had a look of horror and anger on them. Soon they saw how her parents and the cops didn't believe her. The witnesses told what happened and the doctors ended up believing them. Aria was in her room, crying and rocking back and forth, looking like she would break.

"Leviathan." She muttered as she was frozen stiff. She still felt the pain of the fire as she held where her scar was. Leviathan soon showed up through her closet door and tried to get her to move.

"We have to keep going. We're almost there! I can feel it!" Leviathan said to her.

"I-I-I can't!" Aria yelled out as she started bawling.

"Aria please!" Leviathan begged.

"I've held in this pain for so long! It hurts so much!" She cried out.

"We're almost done though. Look! The door's brighter than it was in the beginning! We can do it!" Leviathan said as she didn't move.

"Please! You were brave to face me when I was angry. Even when you were scared you were still brave! I know you're scared and I know it hurts. Please! We're close! You need to get out of here!" He yelled to her as she finally listened to him. She slowly got up.

"That's it! You're a brave and strong girl! You can do this! I'll be here to get you out!" He shouted just as they heard a demonic laugh followed by claws scraping against a hard surface. It was coming from her closet.

"We need to go! NOW!" He shouted as they bolted to the door and were soon through it. Aria was panting and looked terrified.

"She's never looked that scared before. Not even against the werewolf." Ronin commented.

"We need to be ready in case that demon follows her out." Doctor Beaumont said as he prepared a circle to trap it in and send it back to that realm. Aria looked around and saw her home again, except cleaner and in better shape.

"I remember this one. When dad first made friends with those cops." She said as she walked forward. Soon a 10 year old version appeared and started cleaning up.

"No no no! You're doing it wrong! God you're such a lazy fuck!" Her mother came out with a beer bottle in her hand.

"But I'm cleaning like you wanted. How is it wrong?" Young Aria asked her only to be met with the bottle being thrown at her. It broke and hurt the girl. She had a couple small cuts and a bruise forming. Soon Aria started crying.

"Enough you baby! Enough!" She yelled at her but Aria didn't stop.

"If you wanna cry like a baby then I'll give you something to cry about." She said as she soon started to beat her. She then held her down and started to choke her with one hand while the other punched her face and ribs. Aria tried to beg her to stop but she only did when the father came home with a few cops. They soon explained to them that I always misbehaved and tried to steal mom's drinks or attack them. The cops sat down and had a few beers while little Aria, all bruised up, watched from the creaked open door from her bedroom. She watched how they all drank and how her mom acted weird with the cops, dancing on their laps and such, while she silently cried.

"Why do they hate me?" She muttered as she was then reverted to her adult self.

"This was the day everything got worse." Aria muttered as she cried a few more tears. Leviathan crawled under her arm and hugged her. She looked at the boy and gave him a weak smile before gently hugging him back.

"I never knew the pain was this bad. I never felt it this far." He told her as she sighed.

"I think there's one more left." She said as she looked at the now glowing kitchen door outside her room.

"We need to go there. That should be the last one." Aria whispered as they got up and quietly sneaked into the kitchen.

"That's just plain disgusting! How could they do that?" Mary Andrews scolded as she held back a small amount of tears.

"Aria is such a kind and wonderful girl. I never would've believed it if I wasn't seeing it for myself." Pops said as everyone silently agreed. Aria and Leviathan looked around.

"Where are we know?" He asked her.

"The first time my life spiralled down the drain completely before my move to Riverdale. I was 7. After my 7th birthday my parents started drinking and being cruel. This was the point where it became neglectful and abusive." She said as she hesitated.

"I-I-" She stuttered until she felt Leviathan hold her hand.

"It's alright." He reassured with a genuine smile on his face. Aria couldn't help the smile that formed on her face.

"Alright." She whispered as she went over to the phone. Now she appeared as an adorable little 7 year old with big eyes and her hair short to her shoulders wearing green footsie pajamas.

"Merry Christmas Eve to you too Archie! I'll talk to you tomorrow! I still have to put cookies and milk out for Santa!" She said in an adorable voice. Everyone awed at her voice.

"She looks like a little doll." Veronica commented.

"I love you to Archie! Bye!" Little Aria said as she used the chair she stood on to hang up the phone back to the wall. She then hopped off the chair and pushed it back. Little Aria soon reached for the plate of cookies and the glass of milk as she went into the living room. Her parents were drinking red wine and laughing.

"Why are you still up? And what are you doing?" Her father suddenly scolded her.

"I was saying goodnight to cousin Archie! I always do on Christmas Eve. You know that daddy." She said to him.

"And what are those for?" He asked in a taunting way.

"There for Santa!" She said proudly as she sat them down on the table.

"Santa? Santa! What's so great about a fat imaginary man! He shouted at her. Little Aria scrunched up, clearly scared of him, as she soon found her voice.

"But Santa's real. He brings joy and peace." Little Aria squeaked out. Soon her father stood up.

"Why does the imaginary fat man get more respect than I do? Hm? Why?" He suddenly got in her face and yelled at her.

"He is real! He is!" She shouted as he the smacked her so hard across the face that she fell onto the floor. Tears soon spilled from her eyes.

"He's a made up man that doesn't exist. He's fake. He doesn't deserve those cookies or your respect!" He yelled as he dumped the milk oh her and then crumbled the cookies on her little body. The mother just laughed at all of this.

"I'll do this every year if you keep this up! Grow up!" He yelled at her. Aria got up and ran to her room in tears.

"Run little cry baby! Run and cry!" Her mother yelled at her before she laughed. Aria ran into her room and jumped on her bed with tears in her eyes.

"You never should've existed!" They both constantly yelled before it finally died down. She looked around as Aria was now in my normal aged body form.

"Leviathan?" She called out and began looking for him. No doors. No windows. Back in the hospital room everyone was in shock.

"He lost his job and had to work a dead end job. He found out his wife cheated in him but still stayed with her. They both even turned to booze. Instead of accepting what had happened she had him blame Aria for being born. It's horrible." Fred Andrews said as everyone had no idea what to say or how to act. Aria's body was fidgeting and soon moved violently. Aria was in a panic. She was roaming around the room trying to scratch at the walls. She soon heard the growling sound and saw the demon had her cornered.

"No escape now." He taunted as he then chuckled. Aria screamed and panicked. Soon the demon attacked her. She tried to fight but ended up being held down, arms above her head with one clawed hand, as the other caressed her cheek. She struggled and panicked as tears rolled down he cheeks.

"Cry all you want. I don't mind." He said as she saw chains appear. He was about to bind her and the chains together when Leviathan in shadow form burst though the wall and attacked.

"Aria run! Go through the hole! You'll be back home!" He shouted as he and the demon were tossing each other around. Aria had no choice but to comply as she ran through the hole. Soon she was sent hurdling in her body and that's when she jolted up from the bed, in a sitting position, and shrieked lightly. She panted as she looked around to see her friends and family looking at her. Before anyone could say anything there was a growl sound. She looked up and saw the demon above her. Aria screamed when Doctor Beaumont chanted a few words and, after a bright glowing light, the demon was gone.

"He won't be coming back." Doctor Beaumont commented.

"I'm glad you made it alright." Everyone heard a child's voice. Aria looked in front of her, and everyone else looked in the direction she looked in, and saw Leviathan, as a child again but with no wounds and a more natural color to him, as he smiled at her. He ran up to her and hugged her. She hugged him back.

"I'm sorry I put you through all that! I was selfish and should've crossed over a long time ago." He said as she stroked his hair.

"It's alright. I'm not mad. Even though I had to relieve all my worst memories I'm glad I did." She told him. He pulled away and looked at her.

"Why?" He asked in curiosity.

"Well. I met a wonderful boy who was lost and needed to find his way home. That's all. And I'm glad I did all that to be with people who really do care for me. I see that now. More so than before." She admitted to everyone.

"I need to go soon." Leviathan told her.

"I know." Aria replied with a smile.

"Before I go. Can you finish the story?" He asked sweetly. Aria smiled at him.

 _"_ _Red stepped closer and closer to the woods until she heard a branch break behind her. At first she shrieked because she thought she saw a big black bear. But when she fell over and got a better look she realized it was just a cub, using the shadows to look bigger, as he stared at her._

 _"_ _Are you Levi?" She asked him._

 _"_ _Indeed I am. I'm glad to meet you Red." He said to her as he hopped on her chest and hugged her._

 _"_ _They're mom is here. She's taking them from your home now." Levi told her._

 _"_ _But what of you?" She asked him._

 _"_ _I cant go home. Not without something I lost." He told her._

 _"_ _What did you loose?" She had asked him._

 _"_ _A feather to help me go home. The feather shines like silver." He told her._

 _"_ _Oh! I had found a feather like that not to long ago! It is in my home." Red exclaimed as she carried the bear cub to her home. She saw the mother bear outside her home with Landon and Duncan._

 _"_ _You must be Red. I've heard so many nice things from the yellow bird in the woods. Thank you for caring for my cubs." The mama said as red smiled at her._

 _"_ _Always happy to help." She said as she went inside and grabbed the feather. She then saw two silver pendants, one with a blue gem and one with green, put on a silver chain each. Red then decided to grab those too. She went outside to the other cubs._

 _"_ _So you never forget me Landon gets green and Duncan gets blue." Red said as she put the necklaces round their necks to show them proudly._

 _"_ _Thank you Red! We'll miss you!" The twin cubs said as they hugged her. She hugged them quickly before letting them go and setting Levi down._

 _"_ _And here is your feather Levi. I hope you may find home now." Red said as she gave him the feather. Soon he sprouted silver wings and smiled at her._

 _"_ _Thank you Red. Now I can go back to the clouds to continue watching over the cubs." Levi said as he flew up before he stopped._

 _"_ _Here is a gift for you! As a thank you!" Levi yelled down as a piece of cloud soon appeared in front of her. When she touched it, it turned into a stuffed black bear with silver wings._

 _"_ _When you feel sad or alone just talk to it. I'll hear you and send you a message any way I can." He said to her._

 _"_ _Thank you!" She shouted to him as she held the bear close to her with one arm and waved goodbye to him with the other. Levi soon flew up into the clouds while the mother bear took her twin cubs back into the woods and to their home. Red would never forget that night. She would never forget her friends. She has grown old now with kids of her own but still lives in the same home. Every night she still talks to the toy bear and when she was lost of needed help Levi would always send her a sign if she looked hard enough for it._

 _~The End!"_

Aria ended the story as Leviathan smiled up at her.

"I liked that story." He told her.

"I knew you would." Aria replied with a smile.

"Here. So you can talk to me when you feel alone or scared at night." Leviathan said as he handed her his stuffed bear.

"You need him more than I do." He added in as Aria looked at him, then the bear, and then held it close to her as she looked at him.

"Thank you Leviathan. I'll treasure it for as long as I live." I told him as he smiled at me.

"I know you will." He said as he turned and went to the Donavon's.

"I'm sorry I caused you a lot of trouble. I was just alone for so long." He said as the twins hugged him.

"We understand." Mr. Donavon said to him.

"If my son's and Aria can forgive you then so can I." Mrs. Donavon told him.

"I have to go now. My best friend and grandma are waiting for me." He said as he walked over to a wall. We all saw a light but only Aria saw the stairs that lead to the gates of heaven.

"I'll wait for you Aria. Maybe you can be my mommy when it's time." He said as she nodded lightly to him. He smiled and said goodbye to everyone as he started walking up the steps. Once he went through the gates, AKA has crossed over, the light soon disappeared and left peace behind.

"I hope I didn't worry anyone." Aria said as they soon bombarded her with hugs and tears. Dilton and Jughead kissed her cheeks and make sure she was alright.

"Thanks to my orb we saw everything. Well except for heaven All we saw was a bright light." Doctor Beaumont said as Aria's face paled and her eye grew wide.

"S-so. Y-you s-saw?" She started to ask but Archie interrupted her.

"Yeah. All your horrible memories. It was painful to watch. It hurt us just to see." Archie explained as everyone slowly agreed.

"Aria why didn't you ever tell us it was that bad?" Her uncle asked her.

"It was hard to prove. I never thought it would escalate like that. I didn't know what to do. I'm glad I'm not there anymore though." Aria confessed. After a couple hours, and Aria telling Reggie his 2nd great grandfather says hello, Aria was well enough to go home. Everyone seemed to baby Aria and she had to ask them to stop. Once she got home she insisted on writing the mystery with Archie and, after a few minutes of protesting from Archie and his parents, they finally agreed.

*Aria's POV*

"And so this one was the most painful and tear jerking mystery we've encountered yet. ~Archie. Due to me not wanting many people to know my past and memories we've decided not to say much except each one was worst than the last. But it was worth so much to not leave my friends and remaining loving loyal family sad and alone. ~Aria. Sometimes thing are not what they seem. This vengeful ghost was just a lost and lonely child who wanted love. While this might not be the case all the time, Aria was right to decide to help Leviathan and risk a lot to help him find happiness and prove to him he wouldn't be alone in heaven. ~Archie. Heaven really _is_ a warm and kind place. I can guarantee that if you continue to do good things and help when you can, no matter how small, you can see it and be there. Also know that you will never be alone once you get there. ~Aria. It's nice to know that you won't be alone there. It's also nice to know that no matter where you are you will never be truly alone. ~Archie. ….Especially in a little town called Riverdale! ~Archie and Aria."

We wrote the article and saved it as I yawned and stretched.

"Are you really truly happy Aria?" Archie suddenly asked me. I looked at him before I straightened myself and smiled at him.

"More than you think Archie. Even with bad days and other problems I can still appreciate the happiness I have here. And no I won't become a religious nut job on you." I told him as I then assured him about the religion thing.

"That's good. On both things." He said. We hugged each other and said goodnight as I went to her room. I looked at the bear and brought it with me to bed. I tucked myself in and turned my lamp off.

"Goodnight Leviathan. Sweet dreams." I whispered in the Bear's ear as I soon fell asleep.


	29. Chapter 28

Chapter 28: Reggie Or Not!

*Aria's POV*

I couldn't sleep. I didn't know why but I was having a really hard time sleeping. I wasn't having nightmares or anything like that. It was a late Friday night and, not only a few days after the Leviathan ghost other realm dealing with demons hullabaloo, but because both Jughead and Dilton wanted to watch an alien trilogy showing at the revival theater, where they played 10 alien movies from afternoon till 10pm, and Uncle Fred said yes to it, We compromised and Dilton gave up his Saturday to have it on Friday as a double date. But the late movie wasn't why I was up either.

"Leviathan. I feel like there is something in the sky. Like we're not alone. Aliens ya' know? I might seem crazy but I thought whispering this to you would help me sleep better. How are you doing? I'm doing better. My back healed up. I know you're happy. I am too. Goodnight Leviathan." I whispered to the bear as it, in fact, did help me fall asleep and stay asleep. I didn't realize I was right with the alien thing. I woke up in the morning with a gasp.

*It was just a dream.* I thought as I pulled myself out of bed. I was sweaty and sticky and decided to shower off. After the shower I got dressed in my usual outfit and had my hair up in the high ponytail I usually had it in with the usual make up. I went down the stairs and into the kitchen to grab a small and quick breakfast before heading down to the skate park. I _really_ didn't want to deal with my aunt and uncle right now. I felt like they were babying me a bit and I could see glimpses of sorrow in their eyes when they see me. I couldn't stand to see it anymore. Everyone in that hospital room saw my pain and suffering. My sadness and loneliness. I didn't want anyone to see that. I hated spreading those emotions on to them but now they fully understood why I was me. Fun, creative, feisty as some have said, loving, smart, genuine, and so much more. That's what I want them to see. I guess it's just hard to believe. I went into the kitchen and saw Aunt Mary making breakfast and Uncle Fred reading the paper. I guess Archie's still sleeping.

"Good morning Aria." Aunt Mary chimed when she noticed me. Uncle Fred looked up from his paper and smiled at me.

"Good morning. How ya doing? Sleep well?" Uncle Fred asked me as he then took a sip of his coffee.

"I'm fine. Slept alright. And good morning." I said as I went to grab a fresh peach. I _loved_ peaches.

*I wonder if Jughead could make those Peaches and Cream pancakes again.* I thought as I bit into the peach.

"I'll see you guys later." I said, mouth full of peach, as I headed to the door.

"Where are you going?" Uncle Fred asked me.

"To the skating park to practice then I'm going to meet Archie and Jughead at Pop Tate's." I told them.

"Don't you want breakfast?" Aunt Mary asked me as she showed me scrambled eggs.

"This peach is fine. I'm not that hungry." I told her.

"Do you need money?" Uncle Fred asked me.

"I'm good. Thank you though." I said as I grabbed my bag and my skates and was almost out the door.

"Love you guys!" I shouted as I closed the door and walked off. I didn't even wait for a response. I just wanted to go and clear my mind. I was on my way to the skate park as I finished my peach and put the seed in my pocket.

*Maybe I can plant it in a bare spot no one uses at the park. * I thought as I smiled. Even if it didn't grow it was still worth a shot to try. I got to the entrance of the park when I heard someone call my name.

"Aria." I looked and saw Jimmy run up to me before hugging me.

"Oof. Hey Jimmy." I said as I lightly hugged him back. I found out a while ago Jimmy was, not only a hands on person who seriously didn't know much about personal space but was also, a hugger. He, thankfully, let go of me and smiled down at me. He was a couple inches taller than me.

"Didn't think I'd run into you. What ya up to?" He said and then asked me as his smile never faded.

"Just going to skate before I meet Archie and Jughead at Pop Tate's." I told him as I smiled back. His smiles were infectious.

"Mind if I join?" He asked me as I saw his skate board sticking out of his bag.

"Not at all." I told him as we head into the park together. We walked down a path when I noticed a nice open spot where a tree would be perfect.

"Hold on a sec." I told him as I darted over to the spot. I planted the peach seed and then went back to him.

"What did you bury?" He asked me as he had a curious look on his face.

"Oh. Well I had a peach earlier so I planted the seed in the ground. I figured even if it didn't grow it was worth a shot." I told him as he smiled at me.

"Well look at you, trying to help the environment." He said cheerfully and slightly teasingly as I nudged the side of my body into his to push him a bit.

"Hush." I said as we smiled and laughed lightly. We got to the park and we set our stuff under it while I sat down.

"You start. I've only seen skateboarding a few times and I'm curious to see." I told him as I started to slowly clip my skates onto my boots. Jimmy didn't even respond before he was off. He ran and slid his bored on the ground before he hopped on it and went down the slope just as he did. He looked incredible. He swayed back and forth, side to side, hi did a few twists on a jump and once he landed he moved is body in circles while the board only swayed side to side. He jumped off and danced a bit around it before hopping back on to gain speed. Once he had a good speed he grind on the bar and when he reached the end he jumped off his board and let it spin before hopping back on it. He did some more dances on and off the board and another small jumps before he skid to a stop in front of me. "How's that?" He asked me with a small pant. I'm sure I had the look of shock on my face.

"Oh. My. Gosh. I didn't know you could do that! That was amazing!" I said in shock as I stood up and applauded him.

"Thank you! Thank you! I might not be a Tony Hawk but maybe close?" He asked me as I giggled.

"How long have you been at this? If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were showing off just for me." I asked before I teased him. He then blushed a light pink.

"Well, um, a couple years now. And, um, I k-kinda was." Jimmy said as he rubbed the back of his head and looked away with a small blush. I was shocked at first but then I laughed lightly.

"Cute." I said to him as he looked at me.

"Let's see what _you_ got then." He told me as I smiled.

"With pleasure." I said as, with my skates secured and head phones now on my ears, skated to a starting point. I hit play and put my ipod in my pocket and posed. The music started as soon as I posed. 'Le Freak' by C'est Chic played and of I went. I swayed my body side to side and was soon quickening my pace. I started to spin right when I went down the slope. Normally anyone who did that would fall but I knew what to do. I saw Jimmy had ran to the edge, since I looked like I would fall or skid, but as I was about to hit the ground I used my right hand to land on and used that hand to propel into a one hand flip. I did a mild split and a tiny spin before zooming off with speed. I went up the hill and did a ballerina type spin and land, barely, on the edge as I swayed back and forth. I weaved side to side and ducked under the grind bar. I turned and soon, once gained enough speed, jumped on it and did some hand motions while I grind on the bar. I jumped off with a spin and landed on one foot while skating backwards. I did mini kicks, like I was doing the can can, while moving my hands around. I did another spin with one leg still behind me and moved low while having that leg move to in front of me. Then when my music just about ended I stood and posed in a disco like pose. I pulled my ipod out and paused my tunes and removed my head phones just as I heard Jimmy applauding.

"Dang girl. Where'd ya learn to do that?" He asked me.

"I used to skate at different parks a lot. Also used to watch ice skating on TV at times. Never ice skated before but this if close for me." I told him.

"Well I was certainly impressed." He told me with a wide smile.

"Maybe we can tag team sometime." I told him my idea. His skateboarding and my skating would be an interesting combination.

"Ya know what? I was going to say the same thing. Sounds cool." he said as we lightly laughed. So for a couple hours we just goofed off and even did a few dance moves with our wheels and, before I knew it, it was time I met Archie and Jughead at Pop's. Jimmy decided to walk me there since he had to walk by there anyways.

"Thanks for keeping me company Jimmy. It's fun to do things with others most of the time." I said with a smile as the sun shined down on my skin to warm me up.

"No problem. I feel like we haven't spent much time one on one. I'd like to more often." He told me with a bright smile.

"I'd like that." I said to him as we made it to Pop's in no time.

"Here's my stop. See ya soon." I said as I waved him off.

"See ya!" He shouted as he waved back and boarded off. I got in there and saw Jughead reading a comic, Archie and Betty talking, and Reggie, well, being Reggie except a bit bored.

"Hey guys!" I said as I skated up to them.

"So, what we talking about?" I asked as I directed my attention to Betty and Archie.

"My uncle said we could use his cabin next weekend. We could go jet skiing." Betty commented that.

"Sweet! I've never done that before. I-" I started but then shrunk back.

*My scar.* I thought.

"Don't worry. You can wear a shirt over your swim suit. Also need a life jacket on." Archie said as he tried to reassure me. Only Archie and his parents have seen my scar. The memory they saw never showed them but they kinda knew where it was but not how big or ugly.

"Well I think you still look pretty even if we _did_ see it." Jughead commented. It might have sounded rude, since he didn't look up from his comic, but it was actually meant to be sweet and, lucky me for being his girlfriend, I understood what he meant.

"Aw.~ Still not gonna see it though." I commented. It tend to gross people out.

"Either way it sounds fun." I commented with a smile.

"Water skiing's for wimps. Makes sense for Aria to want to go though." Reggie commented. I felt my right eye twitching.

*Did he just call me a wimp?* I questioned in my head as I grabbed Reggie's sleeve and yanked him out of his seat. He yelped and hit the floor while I smiled and sat in his spot.

"Oh sorry Reggie. I guess this 'wimp' didn't realize you were still sitting here." I commented with a smug smile as Archie and Betty lightly laughed. After i took my skates off and put them in my bag I curled close to Jughead.

"What ya reading?" I asked him in a curious tone.

"A comic about aliens." Jughead told me.

"Cool." I said as I curled up closer to him to read with him. He put an arm around me and adjusted the comic for both of us to read.

"That wasn't nice Doll Face." Reggie told me.

"I wasn't aiming for nice." I told him in a flat tone as Jughead and I continued reading the comic.

"Did I ever tell you guys the time I skied down-" He started to say before I cut him off.

"If you're going to remind us of the time you skied down with one ski then we don't want to hear that tall tale again." I told him without looking up. Jughead yawned.

"Also not in the last hour." Jughead added without looking up. I giggled lightly while cuddling closer to him.

"Yeah Reggie. What's the deal with cutting off Betty's invitation with that _big_ lie?" Archie asked him.

"Just trying to spice up your boring little lives." Reggie said before I felt a hand on my leg. I eeped and jumped as I saw the hand belonged to Reggie.

"Reggie! Tell me **why** your _hand_ is on my _thigh?"_ I asked him as nicely as I could. "Wanted to get your attention Doll Face. Maybe instead of dating the dorky twins you can go on a date with me? I'll-" I didn't even let him finish before I ripped his hand off my thigh and kicked him in the side.

"No Reggie!" I scolded him.

"You know better by know Reg." Archie said.

"Yeah. My girl _will_ kick your butt." Jughead added in as I went to get comfy on his side again. Soon Veronica joined in.

"Hey look everyone! My new dress." Veronica said as I looked and saw her holding up a package.

"Is that the the evening gown with the original halts and tanks you got for $20?" I asked her.

"Yes!" She exclaimed with glee.

"Veronica I told you not to get it. I had Dilton run the site and he agrees that the creators of the website and it's sellers rip people off." I told her.

"Oh what do you know." She told me as she opened the package to find a doll dress.

"Huh? What's this?" She asked as she held up the doll dress.

"I warned you." I told her with an eye roll. Reggie was laughing. What a jerk.

"It looks lovely. To bad it'll never fit." Reggie said in a rude and mean way.

"You mean I was cheated? Aria was right?" Veronica asked in a hurt and shocked voice.

"Wake up and smell the rip off. If something _seems_ too good to be true, then it is. Take Doll Face here. She seems-" Reggie started but I moved away from Jughead and kicked him so hard he flew half way to the next table and yelped as he landed.

"I don't even _want_ to know the rest of that sentence." I scolded him as I stood up.

"I'm sorry about your dress situation. But if you want I'll buy it off you." I told her.

"You will?" She asked me.

"Sure. Collins' sister, Clarice, could use it for one of her dolls." I told Veronica as she smiled at me.

"Alright." She said as I gave her $20 for the doll dress and put it in my bag.

"You didn't have to kick me." Reggie muttered as he got up.

"Uh, yeah, I did." I told him with an eye roll and my hands on my hips as I looked at him.

"Not my fault Veronica got ripped off. It's funny." Reggie said.

"No Reggie. It's not funny at all." I said to him.

"So what if Veronica got scammed. Why do you have to point out everyone's mistakes?" Archie asked him.

"Because he thinks he's _all that_ with a bag of chips and wants everyone to try and see that." I pointed out as I sat down next to Jughead and Veronica sat next to Archie. Reggie was now standing and looking at us.

"Well I am. Because _I'm_ better than _everyone."_ Reggie said as he then saw money on the table.

"Hey look! Somebody left some money." Reggie said as he picked up the money.

"Reggie Mantle that is Pop's tip and I _will not_ sit by and let you take that." Betty scolded him.

"Okay. Okay. Sheesh. Why is everybody so down on me today." Reggie said in a disappointed voice as he put the money down.

"Because the reality is nobody likes your rude attitude." I pointed out dully.

*I wonder if I could work here part time.* I thought. I decided to get up and whispered to Jughead

"I'll be back." And kissed his cheek quickly and lightly as I got up and went to the front to talk to Pops.

"Hey Aria. What can I do for ya? Usual burgers?" He asked me.

"Yes please. But besides that I wanted to ask you something." I said to him.

"Sure. What is it?" He asked me.

"Is there any way I could work here? Even if it's just a couple days a week for the summer?" I asked him nicely.

"Well I'm not really hiring but business _has_ increased this summer." He said as he looked around and gave it a thought.

"You wouldn't mind just cleaning up tables and doing dishes?" He asked me.

"Not at all. Anything to earn something." I told him. I was being honest about that.

"Then how about Tuesdays and Wednesdays to start? Then we'll see." He asked me as I brightened up.

"Sure! When do I start?" I asked him eagerly. He chuckled and smiled brightly.

"Now _that's_ the kind of enthusiasm I like to see. I'll start you next week alright? 10 am until closing time at 10 pm. $8 an hour sound good?" He asked me as I smiled.

"Yes sir boss sir!" I said as I did a tiny salute. He laughed.

"Great. It'd be nice to have a bit more help this summer." Pops said as I smiled.

"I'll bring you your order. Same table as Jughead and the gang?" He asked me as I nodded yes. I then went over to the table and saw Reggie leaving and a kid who I recognized from school, If I remember correctly from Dilton's science group his name was Arnie, was at the table.

"Tonk'peh Arnie." I greeted in Vulcan as I did the Spock symbol.

"T-tonk'peh A-Aria." He said nervously while returning the hand symbol.

"What's up?" I asked him in English so they would know.

"Arnie was just telling us how he thinks he was abducted by aliens last night." Archie said.

"No way. You gotta tell me all about it." I said as I sat down next to Jughead and gestured for him to tell. He explained everything while Archie and I took notes. Reporting wasn't a big thing for me but solving mysteries was.

"We'll look more into it later." Archie told him.

"Thanks Archie. Thi'oxalra Aria." Arnie said to us.

"Veling. Rom-halan Arnie." I said to him as I smiled and waved him off.

"R-rom-halan A-Aria." He stuttered and lightly blushed as he waved goodbye to us.

" _What_ on _earth_ did you say to him?" Veronica asked me.

"Well I said hello to him, which he said hello right back, then he said thank you, which I responded with of course, and then we both said goodbye to each other. It was Vulcan was why." I explained to her. I was suddenly pulled into a hug, I eeped lightly when I felt the hug and a sudden kiss on the cheek, as I looked at Jughead.

"You're so cute when you speak Vulcan." He told me as I blushed.

"jIH DaH embarrassed." (I am embarrassed.) I said in Klingon.

"Qatlh? 'oH qly'amo." (Why? It is attractive.) He replied in Klingon. I gasped lightly at that.

"tlhIngan Hol IaH Dajatlh'a' vISovbe'." (I did not know you could speak Klingon.) I responded in shock. I had no _idea_ he liked Star Trek.

"Iuq jIH qaS fan je toH." (Of course I happen to be a fan as well) He replied in Klingon.

"'oH Amaze!" (That is amazing.) I replied in Klingon.

"Will you two _please_ stop speaking gibberish?" Veronica practically shouted as Pop's brought me and Jughead over a couple burgers.

"Thanks Pops." I said to him with a smile.

"No problem. See you Tuesday." He told me as he went back to work.

"What did he mean by that?" Archie asked me.

"Hold on. 1. Veronica it wasn't Gibberish. It was Klingon. A language from the Star Trek series that will soon become an official language. 2. I'm going to be working here Tuesdays and Wednesdays for the summer to help Pops out. Does that help?" I asked them.

"Wait. Pops agree to hire you?" Archie asked. I nodded my head.

"Yes but mostly cleaning tables and doing dishes for now. I can't fully babysit unless I end up stealing Betty's clients, which I won't so, and it's _mostly_ the twins I watch anyways or if Betty can't. Also helps to earn extra besides doing chores." I told them as I smiled. Jughead and I ate are burgers and Archie talked a bit about investigating this and then Pops gave me my bill, which I paid for, as I sipped a bit of my soda just as Reggie came up to us.

"Don't look now, but the Ego-maniac is back." Veronica said as we all groaned. Reggie then put his hands on the table and bent down a little to see us.

"What a delightful day." Reggie said with a bright smile.

*Okay~, Weirdness.* I thought to myself.

"So Betty, Have you seen the new Zepherelli film? I think his cinematic approach to the human condition reflects your positive look on life. I recommend it." Reggie said as Betty just looked at him.

"Huh?" She and Veronica said at the same time. He then looked at Veronica.

"Veronica. What an _amazingly_ attractive dress you have on. Is that new?" He asked her. My mouth hung open and my eyes were wide. Reggie _never_ noticed new clothes to often.

"Why yes. I just bought it yesterday. You really like it?" Veronica commented and then asked while Reggie smiled at her.

"It's so you." He complimented her. I shook my head and decided to ignore it.

"Aria." Reggie started.

"Reggie, I swear, if you flirt with me again I'll throw you out the window." I told him.

"Actually I wanted to apologize for that." He said to me.

"Yeah that's what I-say what now?" I started to tell him off but then finally registered what he said and cut my sentence off to ask him that. I was shocked and now staring at him.

"I had been _very_ rude to you and I wanted to apologize for that. I had no right to touch your leg or to keep calling you Doll Face. You're a woman, not an object, and should be treated as such. I also came to terms that you are in a relationship and I hope for the best with that. Perhaps we can still be friends?" He explained to me and then asked if we could be friends. I was shocked. I heard an alarm go off in my head telling me no way this was real. But it was.

"I, well, I. Of course we can be friends." I stuttered out from the shock.

"Great. I'm glad we could work this out." He said with a bright smile. I had no idea what happened to Reggie on his walk but I was liking the new him.

"Jughead. My compandre. Wait, What's this? Yours and Aria's plates are empty?" He looked as he then signalled over to Pops.

"Pops. 6 more burgers for my friend Jughead. And 6 more for my other friend Aria as well." He said as I just started at him. The whole group was shocked.

"On me of course." Reggie added in. I swear I could faint.

"You mean it?" Jughead asked as Reggie looked back at him and nodded.

"Thanks Reggie." Jughead said for the both of us. This was _way_ to good to be true.

"And Archie, My friend." Reggie started. Oh boy. Another insult.

"I read your latest weird mystery, and what an inspired piece. You and Aria did a fabulous job. A sterling job of swords smithing." Reggie commented. _**Now**_ the alarms were inexcusable. Reggie just complimented the weird mystery article. He _never_ does that.

"Really? Thanks. Aria and I really worked hard on that one." He started to say. Then he had a look of realization. He heard the same old car horn alarm I did.

"Wait a second." Archie said. Yup. It hit him.

"What's with this nice guy approach Reggie? Are you up to something?" Archie asked accusingly. I wanted to agree with Archie but I also wanted to think that maybe, just maybe, Reggie changed.

"Not at all. I've just come to realize that I don't show how much I appreciate you all enough. Especially you three lovely ladies." He said to Archie before pointing us three ladies out. I blushed lightly. He held out a hand to Betty and Veronica.

"Would you two ladies mind me escorting you to dinner tonight?" He asked before he kissed each hand.

"What a gentleman." Veronica commented.

"We'd love too." Betty added in.

"What?" Archie yelped out.

"Seriously? You're dating my cousin." I pointed out.

"So?" Veronica asked. I was going to say something until I felt a hand on my hand.

"Please do not be mad. I wish not to steal anyone's girl. This is just a gesture of kindness to treat a woman right. Would you allow me to treat you to dinner as well?" He asked me suddenly. If this was the Mantle charm than _dang~_ it's a good charm to have.

"Um. I'm sorry but I must decline." I said to him.

"Of course. How dumb of me. You're still recovering and wish to stay at home to rest more. I should've been more concerned for you're health than to have you out and about to risk feeling worse." He suddenly told me.

"Well, no, it's not that. I just, well, I just can't believe that you've changed so quickly." I confessed to him.

"Between you kicking me and my long walk it has knocked the sense into me. I think it's wonderful a woman can defend herself nicely." He told me as I blushed.

"Thank you." I muttered out. Jughead then pulled me to him.

"Hey! I don't know _what_ you're up to but she's my girl!" Jughead said in a protective and dominant tone. Man I loved it when he and Dilton got like that.

"I apologize for giving you the wrong impression. I only wished to make up to her for all the times I was so rude to her." Reggie defended.

"Really?" Jughead, Archie and I asked at the same time.

"Of course. If you ever need a friend to talk to I'll listen. Alright Aria?" Reggie asked me.

"Alright." I said quietly.

"Jughead, Aria, there's something fishy going on here." Archie whispered to us.

"You mean you think he's a clone or a robot or an alien in disguise?" I whispered the question to him.

"Exactly." Archie whispered back. Suddenly Pops put two plates, filled with 6 burgers each, in front of Jughead and I.

"Archie, you've been reading your own articles too much. Maybe Reggie's turned over a new leaf." Jughead said as he eyed the burgers. I already ate 2 of mine and started my 3rd.

"More like he turned over the whole tree." Archie stated as I laughed.

"That was a good one." I said as I finished off another burger.

"Well * Munch Munch* I don't know why he changed * Munch Munch Munch* but as long as he doesn't steal Aria * Munch Munch Munch Munch Munch* then I like it." Jughead said while he consumed his burgers.

"Well I'm going to prove he's a fake." Archie said.

"Oh boy. Archie don't-" I started to say but then he interrupted me.

"Reggie, quick, who won the world series in 1947?" Archie asked.

"-Embarrass yourself." I muttered the rest of the sentence. Why did he insist on this. No one knew the answer, not even me, and Reggie, not only offered to go to the library to look it up, but had also asked Archie what the answer was. Archie didn't know. Typical. I finished my burgers as Archie stormed off yelling he would prove Reggie was a fake.

"Hey guy I'm a head off." I said as I decided to ditch. Jughead seemed disappointed but, as I grabbed my bag with my skates in them, waved me off never the less. I had started walking away when I ran into Vinnie Wells.

*Oh darn it.* I thought as I tried to walk a different way.

"Hey babe." Vinnie said as I tried to ignore him. I felt my arm get grabbed and, before I knew it, my back was slammed against the brick wall, and now made the somewhat still sore back throb, as his arms were on either side of me.

"Don't ignore me." He told me as he sneered in my face.

"What part of 'leave me alone' is unclear?" I asked him with a small sneer.

"I just wanna talk." He told me.

"Yeah right." I muttered to him.

"You can't ignore our relationship forever." He told me.

" _We_ are _not_ in a _relationship!"_ I stressed to him. He just scoffed.

"You're my girl whether you like it or not babe." He told me.

"No I'm not!" I nearly shouted.

"Don't _make me_ teach you the hard way." He threatened me.

"I'll break every bone in your body Vinnie. I swear it." I threatened him with as much anger and venom I could muster into my words. He lifted his fist to punch me but then someone grabbed his wrist.

"I believe she wants you to leave her alone. It's not nice to hit a lady." I heard a familiar voice as I looked and saw Reggie.

"Reggie?" I whispered.

"Go away Mantle. My girl and I are talking." He told him.

"It doesn't look like talking and I believe she wants nothing to do with you." Reggie replied nicely.

"Oh thats it!" Vinnie yelled as he went to use his other fist to punch him but Reggie just simply tossed him aside. Vinnie got up and went after Reggie but Reggie just grabbed him and, literally, carried him across the street to the other side and dropped him in a trash can before coming back over.

"Are you alright Aria? I know you can handle him on your own but I didn't want you to be hurt more so." Reggie told me. I was just in shock. After a few more seconds I shook my head and looked at him.

"What are you doing here? I thought you would still be at Pop's?" I asked him. He suddenly held up a lavender wallet with black music notes all over it.

*Wait a minute.* I thought as I started checking my pockets.

"You left your wallet in the booth. I thought I'd return it to you, and I'm glad I did." He told me as I looked at him. I don't know what came over me but I suddenly lunged at him, wrapping my arms around his shoulders, and held him close in a meaningful hug.

"Thank you so much Reggie. You don't know how grateful I am to you." I said to him as he hugged me back.

"Well you're welcome." He said to me. I then pulled away and took my wallet from him to put in my pocket.

"How can I thank you?" I asked him. Hopefully I won't regret my words.

"Would you mind accompanying me for a bit?" He asked me as I grew shocked.

"Um." I said as I was stunned.

"I only wish to walk with you to your destination. I don't want to leave you alone in case that creep bothers you again." He said as he used his thumb to point to a, still stuck, Vinnie as he struggled and shouted a bit.

"Sure. Better than being alone." I said as he held out his arm to escort me. Soon we were walking to a cooking store and we went inside.

"You wanted something?" He asked me.

"I mainly wanted to look around." I said as we walked around. I saw him buy a cookie pan and then hide it in his shirt.

"What are you doing?" I asked him.

"I want to surprise Betty is all." He said as I said ah and nodded. We left and I saw an art store.

"You better hurry to the park to meet Betty. You'll be late otherwise. And thank you for the walk." I told him.

"You're right. I shouldn't keep a lady waiting. And you are quite welcome. Perhaps I will see you later." He replied with a bow like a true gentleman. I was shocked by that.

"Perhaps." I replied with a small smile. If I hadn't been dating Dilton and Jughead then I would've fallen head over heels over that. I saw Reggie leave as I entered the art store. I could smell the paint and the clay as I soon wondered around. I only needed a new brush but ended up walking out with 3 new brushes, a new set of colored pencils, and a few new art books. I was now walking down the side walk and saw Reggie with Jughead and Veronica ahead of me.

"Hey guys!" I shouted as I ran up to them. I was soon embraced by Jughead and he kissed me lightly.

"Yuck! I'll _never_ get used to that." Veronica said as Jughead and I glared at her.

"I think it's sweet." Reggie said with a smile. We started walking.

"How about I treat the three of you to a new CD player?" Reggie asked us. We all agreed.

"Allow me." Reggie said suddenly as he took my bag and carried it for me.

"Thanks." I said as I leaned into Jughead more.

"Whoops. Need to tie my shoe." He said as I looked over at him and continued to walk to the corner. I was out of Jughead's arm and then I felt wet. I gasped at the sudden cold water that hit me. I looked forward and saw Archie right there with a bucket and a shocked look on his face. Jughead and Veronica got wet too but I got most of the blow.

"Archie Andrews!" I yelled a scold and then gave him a look that probably would've killed him.

"uh, hehe, sorry?" He said to me as my face grew red. I then kicked him in the knee. He yelped and held it while hopping on his other foot.

"You're unbelievable! I know you still think Reggie is fake but can't you just accept the new change? Even if he _is_ a fake he's better than the old Reggie! I can't- I just- Ooo!" I said in anger, with a bunch of hand motions, as I turned on my heel and started to cross the street. I failed to notice the truck.

"Aria look out!" Veronica shouted as I stopped and looked just as I heard the honking and the big red 18 wheeler heading right for me. I then felt that I was on the ground. I looked to see the truck pass me and saw someone next to me. I looked over and saw Reggie was on the ground.

"Oh my gosh! Aria!" I heard Archie shout.

"Reggie?! Oh my gosh! Reggie you saved me!" I yelped out as Jughead soon helped me up. I saw Archie helping Reggie up.

"I'm sorry Reggie! You saved Aria! I guess I was wrong about * Gasp*!" Archie started saying and then gasped when he saw Reggie's face.

"No no. Think nothing of it. And did I mention what a handsome jacket that is?" Reggie asked him.

"Reggie are you hurt?" I asked him as he turned to us. Half his face skin was peeling but that's not what made me gasp. He was showing metal. He _was_ a robot. Veronica, Jughead and I gasped at this.

"Holy cosmic muffins! Archie was right!" Jughead practically yelped out.

"This Reggie _was_ too good to be true. We've **got** to tell Betty." Veronica said in shock.

"Great. Now I'll _never_ hear the end of this." I muttered as Reggie looked at us.

"Is something wrong?" He said as he went to touch his face.

"No don't!" I yelped out as I ran and grabbed his wrist. I had an idea.

"You might hurt yourself more. How about we go over to Betty's and, as a thank you for saving me, I'll help patch you up?" I asked him the offer. If this Reggie was nice then he'd agree. I hope.

"Alright. You're very smart and trust worthy." He said as I had Archie grab him and guide him over to Betty's.

"Smart idea." Veronica commented.

"Would you believe me if I said I winged it?" I asked her.

"You did?" She asked me.

"Yeah." I muttered as Jughead held me close.

"I'm just glad you're alive." Jughead told me as he kissed my cheek. We soon reached Betty's and, after seeing Robo-Reggie and some explaining, her and I used her make up to patch him up.

"By the way, Aria, you're stuff is by the door." Robo-Reggie told me as he referred to my bag of art stuff.

"Oh. Thank you. I guess I forgot about it." I said as we were close to finishing.

"Understandable. You might still be shock from almost getting hit by a large vehicle." He told me as Betty and I finished.

"There. All done." I told him.

"Thanks girls." Robo-Reggie said with a smile. Dang it why couldn't he be real? Another idea.

"Hey Reggie?" I asked him.

"Yes?" Reggie asked me.

"I was thinking I wasn't really being fair towards you earlier. I suppose I could've been nicer to you when rejecting dinner." I pointed out. Everyone went huh and looked at me.

"It wasn't your fault for being like that seeing as how I treated you." He replied.

"Aria! What are you-?" Betty asked but I quickly shushed her.

"So I was thinking, as a thank you for saving me and an apology for not trusting you enough, how about we go on a little adventure?" I asked him.

"That sounds like fun. Although I don't want to leave anyone out." He said as he looked around the room.

"We don't have too. We can make it a group trip." I pointed out. Archie got my idea right away.

"She's right. I can drive to where we want to go." Archie pointed out.

"Well that does sound like fun." Robo-Reggie said.

"Yes, well, Archie and I were having trouble with an article and wanted everyone involved, whether it was real or not." I pointed out to him.

"What can I help with?" Robo-Reggie asked me. I smiled at how good I was playing this off.

"Well we all thought the next article should be a flying saucer. We all want to try and find one to explore today. Right guys?" I asked them as Archie nodded at them to play along. Everyone was agreeing with yeah and sure. Robo-Reggie suddenly stood up.

"I can help you with that! There's one parked not to far from here." Reggie said as I smiled at him.

"Really? Can you take us?" I bolted up with big sparkling eyes. What? I've always wanted to explore a space ship. I'm a Treky what else would you expect from me?

"Of course! Anything for my friends." He said to us. We all soon piled into the car, Archie and Robo-Reggie in front, while Veronica, Betty and Jughead were in the back. I looked at the car.

"Aria are you sure you don't want to be up front?" Robo-Reggie asked me. I smiled and shook my head no.

"It's alright. I'll sit on Jughead's lap again." I said as I slipped onto his lap before Jughead closed the door.

"If that's what you want." Robo-Reggie said with a smile.

"Trust us. It's what she wants." Betty teased as I lightly blushed. Robo-Reggie guided us to a farm land filled with fields until we made our way to a huge, possibly abandoned, barn. We parked a ways away and walked to the barn.

"Come on guys. It's right in here." Robo-Reggie said gleefully as he used his arm to wave us along.

"Hey Reggie. Let's pretend we're on a secret mission alright? That means we have to be very quiet and sneaky. Got it?" Archie asked him.

"Okay! I mean okay." He said loudly at 1st but then corrected himself and began whispering. We entered the barn and my jaw hit the floor.

"Holy phasers and transporters. A _real ship!_ And it's _here!"_ I, literally, squeaked with glee as I grabbed Robo-Reggie's hand.

"ComeOnComeOnComeOn!" I said in a super excited whisper as I, while bouncing, had him lead us to the door to enter. He opened the door for us.

"After you." He said as I went past him, and Archie, and looked around inside to see everything. I couldn't stop gawking at the technology this place had. Archie gave me a look, which I didn't notice, while he found Reggie and tried to free him. I then heard something. I ran and grabbed Archie.

"Someone's coming." I whispered as I pulled him behind the computer desk area to watch. We saw them up the voltage and saw Reggie spasm and say something about not liking butterscotch cookies.

"That looked like fun." Robo-Reggie said as my jaw dropped.

"You were suppose to keep an eye on him." Archie whispered a scold to me.

"Oops." I whispered back.

"What're _you_ doing here?" The purple blob alien, who looked like the leader of the two, shouted at him while pointing a tentacle at him.

"I was pretending to be on a secret mission with my friends, who are over there, and investigate this ship. So I'm not supposed to tell you where they are." He explained with a kind smile as he pointed to where Betty, Veronica, and Jughead were hiding and then to where we were. Uh oh!

"Run!" I yelled as we ran to the exit. Then the door slammed shut on us.

"Well well. What have we here?" The leader alien asked as he made his way over to us.

"Intruders huh? Friends of this earthling's no doubt." He asked as he glared at us.

"Look sir, we don't want any trouble. We just want to get out buddy and get out of here." Archie pointed to the real Reggie as The alien leader grew angry.

"Ooh you've got trouble all right. Too many earthlings now about our mission. Things are getting to hot!" He said to us as he then made his way to the computers. Oh great. "I must get instructions from home base." He said as he started playing with the computer. We all watched in silence. I took the chance to look around and noticed some electrical wires that were showing. Idea. I tapped Archie and Jughead and signalled them to squeeze closer to hide me a bit.

"No more moving." The other one, who was watching us, said in a weird accent as I tried to sneak over to the wires. Archie then went up and distracted him while the others freed Reggie. I ripped a few wires out and pulled apart a few loose items, putting small ones in my pocket as a souvenir of this adventure, and managed to make the speakers blank out. No communication. I then heard yelling and bumped my head.

"Ouch!" I yelped out.

"Don't let them get me again!" I heard Reggie yell out as I then felt tentacle on me.

"Yikes!" I yelped out as I was pulled out and held in front of them.

"Resistance is futile. We'll leave you and you're friends on earth with the android while you come with us." He said with a laugh.

"What do you plan to do with him? He's stupid! He knows very little about everything." I explained to him.

"Perhaps you can take his place?" He questioned. Oh great.

"Uh no thanks. Robo-Reggie's nicer anyways." I said to him as I was let go and went right next to Archie.

"Thanks Aria." Reggie muttered a sarcastic thank you. Yup, That was Reggie.

"People will know about the fake Reggie soon enough." Archie said to him.

"Well not unless he turns out to be a bomb that will blow up the town." I said to him.

"Excellent idea earthling! I almost forgot about the bomb I planted in him!" The leader alien said as I smacked my forehead.

"Me and my big mouth!" I practically shouted. I then had an idea. If Reggie was smart enough to fool them with making the fake him nice. Then maybe.

"But how do you know which is the robot?" I asked him in a challenging way as I signalled to Reggie. It looked like he got the hint.

"What are you talking about?" The leader asked me. I smiled a wicked smile as I walked in front of him.

"Simple really. What if _both_ were kind? What if _both_ were _so_ similar that you couldn't tell them apart? I mean Archie figured it out in a way because of the differences but could you if they were the same?" I questioned him.

"I can use my metal skeleton scanner. Simple enough." He said to me.

"Aw but that would be cheating. I bet you're not smart enough to figure it out. In fact I bet you can't." I told him as a challenge.

"Aria! What are you-?" Archie said before the alien leader spoke up.

"Challenge accepted earthling!" He yelled as I moved aside and edged Reggie to be nice.

"Alright. A competition of niceness it is." I said as Archie led both Reggie's together. Archie then stood next to me.

"I hope you know what you're doing." Archie whispered to me.

"If he was smart enough to do this then he's smart enough to get out of it…..I hope." I whispered back as I muttered the last part to myself. Soon the nice competition began and it started off good. Mostly compliments and switching around. Thanks to the video games I've played based on memory I kept up with the real Reggie easily.

"Look! I'm too much of a nice guy to argue with you. So let me just say one last thing." One Reggie said as he whispered into the other's ear. The one who listened suddenly grew mad and punched the whispering one over to us.

"Gee pal, I hope I didn't hurt ya." The hurt one said while the other stood tall and had a smirk on his face.

"The one over by you kids is the android! I've won! Now get off my ship!" The leader yelled as he pushed a button and let us go. We were soon forced out and saw the ship leave.

"Great! They took the _real_ Reggie and we're stuck with this walking time bomb!" Archie commented. I just crossed my arms and laughed lightly. Everyone looked at me confused.

"Well? Have anything to say Reggie? Maybe a thank you?" I asked as I looked over at the real Reggie.

"Oh come now. I know you're the real one. I have a good memory and followed the real you." I pointed out as he sighed and put an arm around my shoulders.

"Well, it looks like I couldn't fool you. I will admit that was smart. I'm even more flattered you kept watching the real handsome me Doll Face." He said as everyone gapped.

"Yup! You're the real deal. I'm guessing you told the robot that if he really _was_ the nice guy then he'd let you win?" I said and then asked, not even bothered with the nickname right now, as he smiled.

"Yup! Now let me thank you!" He said as he went to kiss me. I punched him in the stomach.

"Ouch!" He yelped and moved away.

"Don't get carried away Reggie!" I scolded him.

"You knew?" Archie asked me.

"I had a feeling that if Reggie was smart enough to have the robot act differently then him then he would think of something like this. At least that's what I was hoping for." I said with a smirk.

"Yup! Now she can marvel at the real me and soon fall for me." Reggie said as I rolled my eyes. We soon saw a small explosion and knew that it was the ship.

"Well I'm proud of you Reggie. You proved that you _can_ be a nice guy." Archie said as he patted his shoulder.

"Yeah. It was the hardest minute of my life." Reggie exasperated as I rolled my eyes.

"Let's go home." I muttered as we started walking to the car. I was then pulled into a sideways hug by Jughead as we walked to the car.

"Can I sit in the back with the girls?" Reggie asked.

"I _suppose_ you deserve a small reward." I said as I grabbed Jughead and ran to the car just to push him in the front seat and sat on his lap.

"No fair!" Betty and Veronica yelled at me.

"I never said I was fair!" I yelled back as I stuck my tongue out at them. Reggie sat in the middle with the girls on each side as Archie drove us back into town.

"Aw. I thought I could get you on my lap Doll Face." Reggie said as I rolled my eyes.

"Not even in your dreams Reggie." I said as everyone chuckled at that. We made it back and spent the rest of the day asking Reggie about his experience. After a few lies we got the real story from him and wrote everything down from his and all of our views. By the time the sun was set we all parted ways. Jughead kissed me goodbye as I walked into the house with Archie. Thank goodness we only went to Betty's house. Soon Archie and I got started on our article.

"And so the safety of our town was saved by the temporary niceness of Reggie Mantle. ~Archie. I knew he could be nice. I kinda miss the robot and his niceness but I guess dealing with an obnoxious Reggie is better than a blown up town. Still it was nice to see the change. Even for a few minutes. ~Aria. An we all learned that if something seems to good to be true, it probably is. ~Archie. In a little town called Riverdale. ~Archie and Aria."

We finished up and I sighed a content smile.

"So. What do you want for your birthday?" Archie suddenly asked me.

"Huh?" I asked him.

"What do you want for your birthday? We're getting close to it." He repeated and then reminded me of when my birthday was.

"Oh that's right. It's coming up soon huh?" I asked more to myself than to him.

"Don't tell me you forgot." Archie said to me.

"Well a little. I don't usually have parties or go out or anything special." I told him with a shrug.

"Well it'll be your day to do whatever you want." He told me with a bright smile.

"I guess." I muttered as I said my good night and went to bed. What _did_ I want to do?


	30. Chapter 29

Chapter 29: Revenge Of Vlad!

*Third POV*

It was a dark and stormy night. Lightning was flashing all around. Then suddenly, in a quick flash, one particular bolt of lightning hit the ground. Normally this wouldn't matter but for the spot it hit it was a big problem. For you see, this was the spot where Jughead, Dilton, and Aria buried Vlad, the robot dummy, while Archie waited for them by the car. Now, after months, the electricity from that bolt of lightning awoken Vlad from his slumber. Vlad had soon reached out of the ground and laughed a maniacal laugh as he pulled himself all the way out.

"I'm coming for you my bride!" He shouted as he laughed again and soon took off into the night. He had found a cabin in the woods and, after shooing the meowing dog away, had found out that the woman who lived here was into voodoo and magic of sorts. He snuck in and found a potion with an interesting label on it. He stole it and ran off without waking the woman up. When she did wake up after he left she soon saw her bottle missing and gasped.

"I hope no one plans on using it!" Miss Lucinda said as Vlad dashed off near the town of Riverdale and began to form a plan.

"Aria Andrews _will_ be my bride! I'll be rid of Dilton Doiley and Jughead Jones _this_ time!" He shouted and laughed as he found a place inside a hollowed out tree to hide and plan.

*Aria's POV*

Today was Thursday. This was the weekend, which was the week after Robo-Reggie, we were going up to Betty's uncle's cabin for water skiing. Reggie didn't want to go so it was me, Archie, Betty, Veronica and Jughead. I didn't like the fact that it was going to be an odd number. Anyways Pops called me and asked me to work as a server for a couple hours, which I didn't think I'd do, and agreed to it happily. Now I was dressed in jeans and my French writing white shirt and my black knee high boots as I used my skates to get down to Pop's by 9:45 am. I rushed in and saw Pops at the register.

"Yes! Not late!" I cheered as I skated up to him.

"Hey Aria. Glad to see you here early. I hope you don't mind a couple extra hours." He told me as I smiled at him.

"Not at all." I smiled at him.

"I figured if you can serve then this uniform won't be wasted." He told me as he held up a black bag over a hanger.

"Huh?" I asked him.

"Well I noticed yesterday that while you cleaned up you also refilled a few drinks and helped out a bit more than I thought. So I've decided to test you and see how well you do with cleaning tables and serving people." He told me as I smiled widely at him.

"You won't regret it!" I shouted with glee as I took the uniform and dashed off into the bathroom to dress in it quickly. It was okay….I guess. It was styled old fashioned like where the skirt went to my knees and flared out a bit and black. I had a very light pink button up top, that was a heart top with puffy shoulder sleeve's like the top of Snow White's dress and it even had white lace trimming at the end of the shoulder sleeves. Other than that it was sleeveless. It also came with a tiny red bow tie and a white apron that was only a waist down one with lace trimming on it. I kept on my black boots and my black fingerless gloves as I pulled out my make up and touched up my usual black eyeliner with light pink eye shadow and added blush that looked spray painted on me. Also decided on strawberry lip balm to gloss my lips. I noticed a little hat like Pops and redid my hair into two low pigtails, using white hair ties I found in my bag, and pinned the hat on. The outfit didn't suit me well but better than a mini school girl skirt. I stepped out of the bathroom and quickly put my bag behind the counter. I had an idea.

"Hey Pops, if it's alright with you, can I use my skates? I can move faster with them and I promise I won't drop anything." I asked him and then let him know about the speed and balance as he looked at me with a small smile.

"Sure. It'd help with the to go orders too." He said as I smiled brightly at him.

"Thanks Pops." I said as I clipped my skates on. Soon teens were piling in. I was doing good. I did a few spins for fun to catch attention. It worked. I popped a few quarters in the machine to get some music going and man was this fun.

"Aria! Booth 5!" Pops said to me as I nodded and skated grabbed the tray of food to bring over to the booth. I soon recognized the group of guys laughing away. "Hey guys!" I said cheerfully as they fell silent and looked at me in my uniform.

"I bet I can guess who got what!" I said cheerfully as I looked at the food. Still no response. I put the food in front of them and smiled.

"Any refills?" I asked. Still nothing.

"Okay seriously guys! What the fudge?" I nearly yelled at them.

"And there's the proof of the real deal!" Geoff said as the guys laughed lightly.

"Sorry Aria. We didn't know you worked here. Also you look different in uniform." Ronin pointed out as I lightly blushed and adverted my eyes from them.

"Pops is letting me work here part time here so I can earn some money." I mumbled lightly. I then looked at them with a smile.

"So? Yes on the refills?" I asked them again. I got a few yes and got down what drinks they had as I skated to the fountain and quickly refilled before returning with a tiny spin.

"Alrightly boys! I'll bring you the check later." I told them as I skated off to the next open table. I opened the tiny note book and pulled out the pen from behind my ear.

"Welcome to Pop Tate's, may I take your order?" I asked without looking up.

"Aria?" I heard a familiar voice. I looked up with a huge grin on my face.

"Hey Dilton. Need a minute?" I asked him.

"You work here now?" He asked me.

"Yeah. Part time and first time server. I started on Tuesday and got called in and bunked up as a trial run." I told him.

"Do you _really_ need money?" He suddenly asked me.

"Kinda. Allowance is good but lately I've had to use more then I needed on different things. It's hard to save up. I'm just glad I can do this." I said with a small smile.

"So, cutie pie, what can I get ya?" I asked him in a small flirty way as I got ready to take his order. I jotted it down and smiled at him.

"I'll be back with your drink." I told him as I skated off. I picked up a few dirty dishes on the way to the back to get Dilton's drink and maneuvered smoothly. I dropped the dishes off in the back and got Dilton's drink ready as I skated back over to him.

"Here ya go." I said with a smile as I set the drink down in front of him.

"By the way Aria, do you have any plans this weekend?" He asked me.

"Actually I do. I'm going with Betty, Veronica, Archie and Jughead up to Betty's uncle's cabin to water ski and other stuff." I said as he looked a bit disappointed.

"Wanna tag along? I'm sure Betty wouldn't mind. Plus it's easier to have 6 instead of 5 so we can all have a partner instead of one being left out or alone." I pointed out to him. I'm sure Betty wouldn't mind at all.

"Are you sure?" He asked me.

"Yes I'm sure. I spend a lot of time with Jughead and I feel like I'm not spending enough time with my other boyfriend. So maybe this weekend can help." I said with a smile.

"I, well, I." He started to say.

"Don't worry about the water skiing. I don't know how to either. Betty can teach us though." I said with a smile.

"Sure! Why not." He suddenly said with confidence.

"Great. I'll be back with your food and give you the details." I said to him as I suddenly skated off. I cleaned, filled out more orders, collected the bills, and gave Dilton his food and cleaned up after him and what not. Soon my 4 hours was up for the day.

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay a bit longer?" I asked him suddenly.

"Don't worry about it. You're good to go." He told me as I smiled at him.

"Alright." I said as I went to go change until I bumped into someone.

"I'm sorry Po-Aria?" Jughead asked in surprise.

"Hey Jughead. Perfect timing! I just got off my shift and was going to change." I said to him.

"Aw.~ But if I would've known you were here sooner then I would've _loved_ for you to serve me." Jughead said as I blushed lightly.

"M-maybe next time." I mumbled out.

"You look cute in the uniform. Maybe you can wear it at the cabin and serve me some burgers?" He asked in a flirty teasing way. I blushed a deeper shade of red.

"D-don't tease me." I mumbled out.

"Who says I'm teasing?" He asked me in a flirty way as I blushed harder.

"I-I'll be right back." I sputtered out as I darted into the bathroom. I got out of uniform and in normal clothes. I saw Jughead sitting at the booth and, before going there, Pops called me over.

"What's up?" I asked him.

"I got a lot of great reviews from your customers today. I want you to be a server from now on. 3-5 days a week for 6-8 hours and a 15-30 minute break. Sound good?" He asked me. I gawked at that.

"Yes. Yes of course." I told him.

"Also as an employee you get your food half off when on shift and free drinks. Oh! And here!" He was telling me before he remembered something and dug in his pocket. He soon held a wad of money and handed it to me.

"What?" I asked barely above a whisper.

"This is the tips you earned today. I'll also start paying you every week starting next week. You'll also get next week's pay and this week's starting next Friday." He told me.

"Th-thank you. Thank you so much Pops." I said as I hugged him.

"Jughead already ordered for you. He's over there waiting." He told me as I let go and nodded.

"Alright. Thanks again Pops." I said as I walked over to Jughead. I sat across from him with a huge grin on my face.

"What's with the grin? Get your 1st paycheck?" Jughead asked me. I smiled and laid the money down in front of him.

"Tips! For just today! For me!" I said in a near squeaky voice as Jughead's jaw hit the table.

"I'm gonna count it real fast!" I said as I began counting it up. Pops brought over our burgers and drinks with a smile.

"Counting tips?" Pops asked me.

"Yeah." I muttered as my jaw finally dropped.

"Pops? Did you count this right?" I asked him suddenly.

"Yeah. I did. I saw the little spins you did and had the music going. It was a nice show for everyone to enjoy. That's partially why you got tipped so well." He told me as I shook my head.

"Pops! It's almost $50! In just tips!" I said as I had to stop myself from shouting.

"And you've earned it." He said as he patted my head and left.

"Wow! You gonna save it?" Jughead asked me as he, too, was impressed.

"Yeah." I muttered as I put the cash in my wallet and put the wallet in my pocket. Soon Jughead and I were eating and laughing together. Jughead paid and we were now walking back to my house.

"I Can't wait to be alone with you." Jughead said as I looked at him.

"What do you mean?" I asked him.

"You and me, alone, by a beautiful lake with the moon shining down on us." He said as I got the hint of 'perfect date' plans.

"That reminds me. It won't be you and I." I told him.

"Yeah, I know. But Archie has Betty and Veronica so-" Jughead started but I stopped him.

"Not what I meant. I invited Dilton along." I told him as he then looked at me.

"Really?" He asked in both shock and disappointment.

"Well he's also my boyfriend and an even number is safer than an odd one. Plus he needs to get out of the lab more _and_ I feel like I'm not spending enough time with him. I just have to let Archie and Betty know is all." I told Jughead as he sighed.

"Alright. Whatever makes you happy." Jughead said as I smiled at him. We took a short cut through the park and met up with Dilton half way through. We were unaware of doll eyes watching us from a hollow tree. We made it back to the house as I saw Archie and Betty ready to kiss.

"Sorry to interrupt!" I said kinda loudly as they jumped away from each other.

"Hey Aria." Betty greeted me.

"Betty. Dilton's gonna join us so it's an even group up there and so no one's left out." I told her as she smiled.

"Sure. No problem." Betty said as Dilton and Jughead entered the room. The plan was Betty and Veronica stay at her house while Jughead, and now Dilton, stay here that way we can leave early in the morning with no problems. Archie and I went into the garage, to find a few things, and that's when I realized something.

"Um, Archie?" I questioned him.

"Yeah." He said as he looked at me.

"Um, Where are they going to sleep tonight?" I whispered to him. Archie was going to say something but then had a look of realization on his face.

"Aria! You're staying at Betty's tonight!" He practically ordered.

"No way! Why?" I shouted out, completely forgetting the garage door was left open.

"Because they're your boyfriends and you shouldn't sleep in the same house with them." Archie pointed out.

"But Jughead has spent the night here twice and me at his place once! How is this different besides Dilton being here?" I asked him with a loud voice, unaware of 5 others listening in.

"Because before you were just friends." Archie started.

"I don't believe this! You're a hypocrite. I'm sure you've stayed the night with Betty and/or Veronica _at least_ once and you're dating both! Plus we're _all_ staying in the same cabin? So what?" I started to tell him off.

"I don't want you-" He started to say before I finished gathering the cooler and other things in a pile and walked off without a word. No _way_ I was going to listen to him. I went upstairs to pack my stuff up. A couple pairs of shorts, my new hiking boots, a couple tank tops, my make up and jewelery, even if I don't use them, and my underwear. I heard a knock.

"Unless you're Archie come in." I said as I started searching for my swim suit.

"You okay?" Dilton asked me.

"Yeah. I'm fine." I said to him.

"I heard the argument." He told me.

"You did?" I asked in an embarrassed way.

"I understand where he's coming from though." He told me as I sighed.

"He's not being fair though. And, besides, I trust you two completely. Nothing will change that." I said to him as I went from a crouching position to a stretching one.

*Maybe I left it up here somehow?* I thought as I then felt arms around me. I made a tiny eep and, instinctively, put my hands on his arms. I didn't hurt him or anything but I, most of the time, reflexed like that.

"Sorry. Did I scare you?" Dilton asked me.

"A little. It's okay though." I muttered as I put my hands over his and leaned a little bit into him to accept the hug.

"If you need to talk, I'll listen." He told me in my ear as he then kissed my cheek lightly.

"Thanks. I'll be fine though." I told him as I remembered something.

"Dilton?" I asked him.

"Yeah?" He questioned me back.

"Can you let go? I just remembered where my swimsuit is." I told him as he let me go. I heard him take a few steps back. I went to the back of my closet and pulled out my wizard trunk before opening it and searching through it. I had a few things, like pictures taken here in Riverdale, or souvenirs from the mysteries in bags and jars, or other things too special to take out that I've kept in here. I reached to the bottom and smiled.

"Found it!" I nearly shouted as I pulled out a small shopping bag. I closed the trunk and shoved it in the back of the closet before standing up, closing the closet, and walked over to the small suitcase Archie loaned me.

"What is it?" Dilton asked me.

"My swim suit Aunt Mary bought me. The problem is it's a two piece instead of a one." I told him as I put it in the suitcase and went to my desk to pull out my brush, hair ties, and a few scrunchies to put in the bag.

"Is that really a bad thing?" He asked me as I stopped packing and looked up quickly at him and meet his eyes.

"My scar Dilton. I don't like anyone seeing it. Archie and my aunt and uncle have seen it and I don't want others to see until I get it tattooed." I told him as I heard my door open.

"You're getting a tattoo?" I heard Jughead say as I looked up. Dilton and I looked at him.

"Sorry. I was going to knock when I heard that." He said to me.

"It's fine, and yes I am when I'm 18. I don't know what I want yet but the scar is to ugly to keep and the procedure is both expensive and unreliable of a skin recovery because of the damage done." I told them both.

"What did you need?" I asked him in a concerned way.

"I wanted to bring you your toothbrush and paste." He said as he held it up.

"Oh." I mumbled out.

"You shouldn't get a tattoo. It's not natural." Dilton pointed out.

"Yeah. Tattoos are overrated anyways." Jughead said as he handed me the last of my stuff.

"I think they're kinda cool if you get the right one. Remember I'm an artist so tattoos are like art but put on skin instead of paper." I told them as I looked up and saw there mixed faces.

"Still, not only is that a small ways away but, I have to find the perfect piece to put there. Not something random but something that means an awful lot to me." I told them with a small smile.

"Still." Dilton said but didn't push it.

"So. Are we going to see you in a swimsuit without a shirt?" Jughead randomly asked me. I swear he was becoming bold and a small bit perverted. I couldn't prove the second one but the first one was there.

"No. And even if so I'm _still_ wearing a life jacket." I told them both as Jughead seemed disappointed.

"You both should leave before Archie gets mad. Thanks for helping me though." I told them with a small smile as I closed and zipped up the bag.

"Where are you sleeping?" Dilton asked me.

"I'm not staying at Betty's with Veronica I'll tell ya that." I said to them.

"You're not?" Jughead questioned me.

"No. I'm not too big on girl talk, especially when it's my cousin *Shudders*, and I've been…..having some bad dreams lately. The last thing I need is to wake them up." I said as I shrugged and mentally starting to think of anything I forgot.

"Did they start after you went to that limbo realm?" Jughead asked me. I stopped my mental list and looked at him.

"Yeah. Actually they did. I don't always remember them but I keep waking up in a fright." I confessed.

"Perhaps I can work on a dream machine. It will take months though." Dilton told me as I smiled at him.

"I think I can wait." I said with a smile.

"So one or both of you might end up on the couch and if only one then the other will sleep on the floor or in Archie's room. Simple." I said with a smile while grabbing the bag and kissed each of them on the cheek before skipping out the door and down the stairs. Jughead and Dilton soon followed me as I reached the bottom and ignored Archie to head to the garage.

"Archie I need the keys to get into the trunk!" I yelled to him when I made it into the garage.

"It should be open!" He yelled back as I looked and saw the trunk was opened just like he said.I tossed the bag in there and shut the trunk.

"I'm closing the garage door." I yelled as I went over to the door and closed it. I was unaware of the eyes under the car watching my every move.

"I still think you should sleep over at Betty's" Archie told me as I rolled my eyes.

"No one's sleeping in my room either way." I pointed out as I walked over to him. I shut the door and went into the living room.

"But!" Archie was saying.

"If you're _that_ worried about it then you sleep over at Betty's so your bed and the couch are open. You know me Arch. You and I both know nothing will happen and if they try anything I'll _easily_ break their arm." I said as Jughead and Dilton chuckled awkwardly.

"You're right. I'm being over protective." Archie said as he waved a hand and brushed this whole thing off. I wanted to question it but decided against it. Actually all I did was shrug and head over to the movie rack.

"Anyone wanna watch a movie?" I asked them. Before I knew it Archie had left to, indeed, sleep over at Betty's, hypocrite, while Jughead and Dilton were arguing about a movie to watch. I grew bored of the 20 minute argument. I gave a loud whistle and both immediately stopped and looked at me.

"Chill guys. Seriously. If we can't decide on a movie then how about a few episodes of Star Trek?" I asked them.

"Fine."

"Fair enough." They mumbled with their heads turned the other way and a faint blush on their cheeks. I giggled lightly as I put the first season of Star Trek in and watched from episode one. By the time episode 5 came on I had to turn it off. I saw Dilton and Jughead fell asleep so I adjusted them, put a pillow under them, a couple sheets over them, then made my way upstairs to my room, slipped on a night gown that was thin, lavender, spaghetti strapped and went to my mid thigh, set my alarm, and was soon asleep. I woke up to 'Enter Sandman' by Metallica and groaned. I didn't have a nightmare but man was I tired. I looked at the alarm. 4 AM.

"Why!~" I whined lightly as I forced myself out of bed. I didn't like getting up early, especially during summer vacation. I stretched a bit before turning my alarm off. I decided to grab a quick breakfast, and even though I hate it maybe coffee, to wake up a bit. I sluggishly walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. I wasn't thinking clearly. I opened the fridge to look for food and saw nothing edible for me. I sighed and closed the fridge door. That's when I noticed it. A wasp. I screeched very loudly and began to panic. I made a run for it and felt a sting. Dang it.

"What's wrong?" I heard a panic voice ask. I looked up and saw Jughead and Dilton at the door way, clothes shuffled and hair messy, as they looked at me.

"Wasp. Stung me. Allergic." I mustered out in a panic as I checked my right shoulder blade where it stung me. I could see it starting to swell up.

"Where's your-" Dilton started asking me.

"Bathroom, upstairs, medicine cabinet." I told him as I held my shoulder. Wasp stings hurt. Dilton ran quickly as Jughead found the wasp still lingering around and got rid of it. Dilton bolted down and I showed him where the sting was. I wouldn't be able to reach it so he injected the EpiPen into the sting just as Archie bolted through the door.

"What happened? I heard you screech from Betty's!" Archie said as Betty and Veronica shot in after him.

"I'm okay. I just saw a wasp and got stung was all." I told him as I got up and threw away the used EpiPen and ribbed the sore spot.

"Do you need-" Archie started to ask me before he was cut off.

"I already injected the EpiPen in her sting. She should be fine." Dilton informed him as Archie sighed in relief.

"That's good." Archie muttered.

"You woke us up over a wasp? And from it stinging you? I get that it's a bug but don't you think that was over dramatic?" Veronica asked me these questions.

"You're one to talk." I muttered to her.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Veronica said as she got upset.

"Veronica stop. Aria's allergic to bee stings and that includes wasps. The stings swell up and they could kill her easily with enough stings or a sting to her throat." Archie suddenly told her.

"Oh. I never knew." Veronica said as she then felt guilty.

"It's fine. I always carry an EpiPen in my bag and packed a few for the trip just in case. It's not a big deal." I said as I shrugged but then winced at the pain of the sting.

"So much for needing coffee to wake up. I'm gonna get ready." I muttered the first part before I spoke up for them to hear me.

"Alright. Since we're up anyways we might as well get ready." Archie pointed out as we agreed and I headed upstairs to the bathroom. I hopped in the shower real quick before drying off, tossing the gown back on, and head to my room to change. I tossed on my usual jeans and decided to wear my new blue single strap lightly sparkled top with butterfly pin where the strap was to look like it was holding it together, and a pair of blue sleeves that went to the elbows. They were like gloves but without the hands. I went back into the bathroom and put on my black eye liner with a tint of blue metallic in the black and light blue eye shadow. I also put in sea shell earrings and put my hair up in a sideways low ponytail so it was opposite of the sleeve. I looked over my choice once before I went downstairs and put on blue flip flops and then went into the kitchen.

"What's for breakfast?" I asked as I then got a whiff of pancakes. I started drooling immediately.

"Great timing. Jughead just made pancakes for us." Betty said as my eyes drifted to the cook and saw a pile of pancakes on a plate practically calling me.

"And this ones yours. My specialty and your favorite." Jughead said as he then added the syrup and the whip cream. He didn't have to tell me twice. I was over by him and the pancakes in a blink of an eye.

"Thank you!" I said happily as I kissed his cheek and pulled out a fork. I was eating them before sitting at the table.

"Geeze. You're such a slob." Veronica said as I glared at her.

"There good alright!" I said after I swallowed a mouthful of pancakes before stuffing my face again.

"I think it's kinda cute. She loves good food like I do." Jughead pointed out as I smiled a proud smile before sipping on some Peach juice Dilton got me.

"Thanks Dilton. I needed that." I told him as I kissed his cheek as well. I didn't want him to feel neglected at all. That was the point in inviting him after all. He smiled and continued eating. I swear Jughead could read my mind, or my stomach, because as soon as I emptied my plate he replaced it with another batch of peaches and cream pancakes and kissed my cheek. I smiled and dug right in.

"Geeze Aria, How much food can you pack away?" Archie asked me.

"A lot." I said through a small mouthful as I shoved more pancakes in my mouth.

"Do you even _gain_ weight?" Veronica asked me. I swallowed the mouthful and looked at her.

"Sure I do. Since I've been here I've gained 14 pounds but it was weight I needed to gain anyways. I move around a lot and have a good metabolism so I can eat a lot and not gain too much weight." I told her as I shoveled another mouthful of pancakes down my throat.

"Wow. I never thought I'd meet the day anyone could eat as much as Jughead." Betty commented.

"I don't think she can." Archie said as I looked at them. I swallowed and puffed my cheeks out.

"I can." I pouted as they laughed.

"Trust me Aria, _no one_ eats as much as Jughead." Archie said as Jughead finished eating and looked at us with a smile.

"It's true." Jughead said proudly.

"I could." I said in a pouty tone.

"It's physically impossible. Actually it's physically impossible for Jughead to eat so much and not gain a pound or even have his stomach explode." Dilton said scientifically. I pouted again.

"Next time we go to Pop Tate's I challenge you to an eat off. Loser pays the bill." I challenged Jughead as I pointed my finger at him.

"Fine. Be ready to pay though." He told me with a small smile as I smiled right back.

"Alright calm down you two. Let's hurry up so we can go." Archie said as I scarfed down my remaining pancakes quickly. Archie washed the dishes while Jughead helped put them away, Betty and Veronica argued about Veronica bringing too much stuff and had to narrow it down, Dilton and I were in the garage checking the list to make sure everything was set and the unknown of his presence, familiar dummy, hid under the car and secured himself to it to follow us all the way to the cabin. Once everything was set and in order we got in the car and drove off. Veronica was up front while in the back, from diver's side to passenger's, was Betty, Dilton and Jughead while I sat on Jughead's lap and rested my legs on Dilton's lap. I don't remember falling asleep but I guess I did because Jughead and Dilton woke me up to tell me we were there. I blinked and yawned before stepping out of the car and stretched.

"Have a good nap?" Archie asked me as he opened the trunk.

"Yes I did." I said with a smile. I looked around and gasped at the beauty I saw.

"Betty it's magnificent out here." I told her as I took in a huge breath of fresh air.

"I'm glad you like it out here." Betty said with a smile on her face.

"Betty, When Aria says magnificent that's a rare thing." Archie told her as Betty just looked at him in shock.

"I don't see what's so great about it. Oh well. It's nice to get away from _Reggie_ and spend some alone time with Archie-kins." Veronica said as she then hugged my cousins left arm. I gagged. I grabbed my bag and rushed inside just as a fight started up. I went into the unlocked cabin and looked around. I was rustic but nice. It was better than nothing. Soon the girls came in and the arguing seemed to stop.

"Hey Betty? Where are we all sleeping?" I suddenly asked her.

"Well we only have three rooms so we can either sleep in pairs or threes." She said as the guys walked in.

"No sleeping with Jughead or Dilton Aria." Archie scolded me as I glared at him.

"Then you can't sleep with Betty or Veronica either." I told him as he looked at me with a glare.

"Alright enough. Either Aria can sleep with us or her and Archie can share the third room. Alright?" Betty practically shouted out to stop us from fighting. Archie and I showed me to the rooms and we went in one while the boys went outside to get things ready. Veronica _immediately_ started a fight with Betty over Archie and I walked out.

"Nope!" I said as I walked into the third room and unpacked my stuff. I went downstairs and grabbed Archie's things to bring upstairs.

"Hey we're gonna go outside. Wanna get into a swimsuit and join us?" Betty asked me as both her and Veronica walked up to me, outside the third room, in swimsuits.

"Will you two stop fighting for 20 minutes at least?" I asked them. Veronica was going to say something but then Betty elbowed her and spoke up.

"Yeah. We'll try." Betty said in an apologetic way.

"Then I'll be outside in a bit." I told her with a smile. They smiled at me and then walked down the stairs to go outside. I sighed and went into the third room to put Archie's bag to the side. I went to my bag and decided to wear my swimsuit.

"Hey Aria." Archie called me.

"In the third room. You're bag is here." I called as he came in.

"We bunking?" He asked me.

"Sorry but Betty and Ronnie made me snap." I confessed as he sighed.

"Fair enough." He sighed out and shook his head.

"I'm going to hop in the shower quickly." He told me.

"Fine." I told him as he went down the hall to one of the two bathrooms with a shower. I sighed and then I got undressed and then wore my 2 piece halter tie top leopard print swimsuit. I loved it except you can see my scar. It was on my right side. It was bigger than my hand and the straps _barely_ went over it. It was on my ribs and it spread thin to my upper right back. My tops can cover it easily but not this one. I hated it. It was reddish pink and wrinkled up. It was so ugly. I cleaned my make up off and decided to keep it off in case I went swimming later. I tossed my hair up in a bun on top of my head and took off my earrings. I also switched my blue flip flops for my black ones. I saw the scar again from the mirror and sighed again.

*I need to stop looking at it.* I thought as I started looking through my bag for a black top, sun screen and bug spray. I couldn't find it.

"That's odd." I mumbled to myself. I couldn't find the sun screen nor the bug spray.

"Archie might have it." I mumbled as I surrendered my search for a top and went into Archie's bag and grabbed the sun screen. I began to apply it when suddenly.

"Hey Arch! I need the sun-" I heard Jughead say as stopped rubbing the sun screen on my arms and looked at him with wide eyes. His eyes tailed my figure but then stopped at a certain spot. My _scar!_ He saw it and his eyes were wide. I immediately covered it with my arms.

"G-Get out!" I shrieked out to him. He just looked at me.

"Jughead!" I shrieked again at him as my eyes began to water. He just walked in.

"I said get out!" I yelled at him. I decided to run out but he grabbed me and pulled me into a hug. I was shocked by this motion.

"It's alright. It's not that bad. It shows you're a stronger person." He said as he held me closer and rubbed my back. I let a few tears slip down as began shaking.

"What happened!" Dilton bolted in to see Jughead comforting me. I heard Dilton walk over.

"She's fine. I just walked in on her thinking she was Archie was all. I didn't see anything inappropriate. Just saw her scar was all." Jughead told him. Jughead then moved me and adjusted my arm so Dilton could see my scar.

"D-don't look. It's ugly. I-I hate it." I said as I buried my face into Jughead's chest to hide my embarrassment and shame.

"Aria you have _nothing_ to be embarrassed nor ashamed about. You're still beautiful. You're also kind, sweet and so much more than a girl with a scar. It just shows you survived and that you're strong." Dilton told me as I felt him hug me as well.

"I'm sorry I walked in and saw it." Jughead said as I pulled away and wiped my eyes.

"I-it's fine. I'm just being over emotional." I said as I kept my gaze away from them.

"It's alright. That's normal." Dilton assured me.

"Try not wearing a shirt over it. The more you grow used to it the easier it will be for you." Jughead reasoned with me as I looked at them.

"B-but-" I started to say.

"Let them stare. It shows strength and bravery even more so when you show it." Jughead said, cutting me off, as Dilton nodded.

"I agree." Dilton simply said. Suddenly Archie busted in with a towel over him and a bruise forming on his arm.

"Aria! What's wrong? Did they do something? Another wasp?" Archie was yelling these questions in a panic.

"What took you so long!" I yelled at him.

"I fell out of the shower and landed on the sink before finally getting a towel and getting here." He told me as he looked at Dilton and Jughead.

"It's fine." I told him as I calmed down.

"But what happened?" He asked in a demanding voice.

"I came in here thinking you were in here instead of her. I came in to ask for sun screen and ended up seeing her dressed like this and saw her scar." Jughead confessed to Archie.

"We worked it out. Don't worry. Just. Juts go put on some clothes!" I yelled at him while looking away and dug in his bag to pull out his swim trunks and tossed it to him.

"Fine. NO funny business though." He said before telling the boys that last thing and walked out.

"I'll give you the sun screen when I'm done." I told him as I started to apply more on.

"I'll try to not wear a shirt over my scar. If I feel uncomfortable though I'm putting one on." I told them as I finished my arms and started my legs. I wasn't even thinking of my actions but when I got no response and looked up I saw them blushing. That's when I realized not only was this the most skin they ever saw from me but with the way I was rubbing the lotion on my arms and legs must have attracted them. I blushed a deep red.

"O-oh goodness! I-I'm an idiot! I'm s-sorry guys. I-I didn't r-realize. Oh Gracious." I said with a bunch of stutters as I grew embarrassed.

"I-I'll j-just-" I started to say as I then saw Jughead and Dilton turn.

"I-It's not your fault." Jughead said.

"I-Indeed. I-It's our fault. We're n-not giving you your p-personal s-space." Dilton added in as I hurried with the sun screen. I guess this was a bigger step than I thought.

"C-can someone rub this on my back?" I managed to ask.

"I will." Jughead said as I went over to him and handed him the bottle. I soon felt the sun screen on my shoulders and my back area.

"Under the straps too." I told him as I felt him slowly go under the strap.

"Dilton do you have bug spray?" I asked him.

"Yeah. It'll help repel the bees and wasps." He said as I smiled. He then left to go get it.

"I'm done." Jughead said as I looked at him and smiled.

"Thanks. And thanks for the comfort and talk as well." I said as I turned around fully as I kissed his cheek and then went over to my bag.

"You should get ready now." I told him.

"Right." Jughead said as he walked out the door. Once I grabbed my towel I heard another voice.

"Here's the spray." Dilton said as I turned and smiled at him.

"Thanks Dilton." I said as I sprayed it on me and let him spray my back.

"Thanks and also thanks for the pep talk as well." I said as I kissed his cheek and went over to my towel.

"You should get ready too." I said to him.

"Yeah." He said as he walked out the door. As I was leaving I saw Archie walk in.

"Aria. Are you sure-" He started before I stopped him.

"I'm fine. Jughead and Dilton are right. In order to get over this I need to not feel so self conscious and show off my bravery and strength." I told him as I smiled and patted his chest.

"I'll be fine." I said as I walked out the room. As I headed down the stairs and outside I had no idea Jughead was telling Betty and Veronica not to stare at my scar too much and to try and be comforting rather than make me feel awkward and/or uncomfortable.I had gone outside and I saw the girls and Jughead and immediately felt inferior.

*Welp. Confidence ditched me yet again.* I thought as I went over to them.

"Hey." Jughead greeted me as he held me close and kissed my cheek. The girls greeted me and actually avoided talking about my scar. I was suspicious about that but I decided to ignore it so I could relax and have a good time. I had started relaxing and soon we were all swimming and goofing off. Dilton and I learned how to water ski and it was actually fun. I had 2 wipe outs, kinda bad, but soon figured out how to do it. Dilton messed up a lot but admitted he liked it still and would keep learning. We then had a barbecue and enjoyed a bunch of yummy food. Before we knew it the day was over.I looked outside and decided to sit and watch the sun set.

*I should get a drink 1st.* I thought as I went into the kitchen and made a glass of lemonade before going outside. I sat in one of the lawn chairs and set the drink on a small table next to me.

"Mind if I join you?" I heard Dilton ask me.

"Not at all." I said as he pulled up a lawn chair next to me. We peacefully watched the sunset together, unaware of Vlad, as I sighed gently.

*Third POV*

Aria and Dilton sat together, Dilton fidgeting as he thought, as Vlad watched this from close by.

"No. She's _mine."_ Vlad hissed to himself ans he quickly, and quietly, made his way behind the chairs they lounged in.

"I'm, uh, real glad you invited me." Dilton said as he rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

"What's on your mind? I can tell you want to ask something." Aria suddenly said as Dilton gapped and nearly fell out of his chair from her blunt statement. He had not seen her look at him at all and _still_ knew. Vlad pulled out the potion and read the simple words, a spell, to make the potion go into effect when ready. Neither of them noticed him as Dilton fixed himself before speaking.

"Well, I'm not much of an outdoors person, but I wanted to thank you. You're right. I needed a break from the lab." Dilton confessed with a small blush.

"I know right? I'm so used to the city that Riverdale was wonderful. But even then this is nice. No technology, no mysteries, no globs or werewolves or robot dummy obsessed with wanting a bride." Aria confessed as she chuckled after her words. Vlad froze and listened on. He was now curious.

"Yes. I'm sorry about that by the way." Dilton apologized as he felt bad about Vlad. Aria just shook her head.

"You had no idea what would happen at the time. I'm not mad at you at all. Heck, if I had the stuff I might have done the same thing. Point is we didn't know and I could never be mad at you unless you did that intentionally. Then I'd have to break a few bones." Aria confessed and then joked as she lightly laughed. Dilton chuckled as he grew nervous. He knew Aria probably would too.

"I'm only joking Dilton. You're too cute to hurt. Unless you went evil." Aria told him as they both chuckled and blushed lightly. Vlad wanted to puke, if he could. How can she like Dilton and not him?

"Still, thank you, for getting me out here." Dilton said with a smile as she looked at him and smiled back.

"I'm glad to get you to come. I feel like we don't spend enough time together and I'd like to try to change that for the rest of summer. I know once school starts we'll be back to a normal routine." She said with a smile. Once Vlad knew they were distracted he poured some of the potion into her unattended drink. It glowed lightly for 3 seconds before it went to normal.

*Once she drinks this I'll say the chant.* Vlad thought as he snuck away to watch and could still hear them.

"I'm sorry I haven't been spending much time with you." Dilton apologized to her.

"That's alright. We can change that." She said as she grabbed her drink. Vlad grinned as she took a couple sips. Aria cringed and looked at her drink.

"I think I made this too sour." She said as she rose from her seat.

"Maybe some more sugar?" Dilton said as Aria helped him up.

"Yeah." Aria said as she was ready to leave. Suddenly Dilton grabbed her arm and lightly spun her to him. Aria gasped as he suddenly pulled her into a gently kiss. Vlad's jaw dropped.

*He's grown very bold.* Vlad thought as Aria's eyes fluttered shut and her ungrabbed unoccupied arm wrapped lightly around his neck. Aria and Dilton pulled away and blushed lightly.

"Th-that was bold." Aria commented as Dilton lightly smiled.

"I wanted to be, the proper word I believe being, spontaneous." Dilton said as they both blushed harder.

"W-well, um, I liked it." Aria stuttered out as Dilton grew a small smile.

"I read being spontaneous in a relationship helps to both improve it and makes the spouse smile. It seemed to work." Dilton said as Aria blushed harder with a small smile on her face.

"I'm actually impressed." Aria confessed. Vlad was in shock. He had been spontaneous with a dress and a ring for her and she rejected him. All Dilton did was pull her into a kiss and she swooned over him. How? Aria took another sip of her lemonade, when Dilton let her arm go, and she cringed again.

"Yup. Needs more sugar." She said as Dilton chuckled lightly at her face. Aria pouted and Dilton chuckled some more.

"It's not funny." She said as she puffed out her cheeks.

"I'm laughing because it's adorable when you pout." Dilton said as she blushed. They started to walk inside when Aria suddenly screeched.

"Wasp!" She yelped as she then threw her drink of the wasp before Dilton stepped on it. Vlad groaned and smacked his head.

*Of course she's one of _those_ girls.* Vlad thought bitterly.

"S-sorry." Aria stuttered in embarrassment.

"Don't apologize. Bee allergies are nothing to laugh about nor be embarrassed about." Dilton comforted her.

*She's allergic to bees?* Vlad thought as he had discovered something new about his bride to be.

"Oh well, lost my drink, but I can make a new and better tasting one." Aria said as Jughead bolted out of the cabin.

"What happened?" Jughead said in a panic.

"I'm sorry Jughead. I saw another wasp. It's dead now though." Aria apologized before she went over to him and hugged him.

"As long as it didn't sting you then I'm glad." Jughead said as he kissed her lips lightly. Vlad was now in a, possibly permanent, state of shock with wide eyes and a dropped jaw. Aria and Jughead pulled away and smiled.

"I'm lucky to have two wonderful and caring boyfriends." she said with a smile as the boys wrapped an arm around her shoulders and guided her inside.

"She's dating _both?_ How? Why? I deserve her, not them!" Vlad said as he snapped out of his shock.

"Let's hope she drank enough for this to work." Vlad said as he waited for everyone to sleep.

*Aria's POV*

I really need to stop screeching and screaming like a little girl over bees and wasps. I made a new, and sweeter, lemonade as I went into the lounge/living room area and sat on the couch.I was listening to Betty and Veronica argue who was better for Archie, as I tried to tune them out, while looking around a bit more. No TV but a few books. Maybe I could read one or read one of Jughead's comics. After not standing the arguing anymore I gulped down my lemonade and headed up to bed. I started to pass Archie on my way to the room we shared when I decided to give him a heads up on the girls arguing. He thanked me and still went downstairs. I rolled my eyes and decided to brush my teeth. That lemonade tasted too sweet now. I had now finished when I ran into Dilton and Jughead trying to get into the other bathroom. I laughed lightly at their actions and gave them a kiss on the cheek before heading off to bed. I felt really weird for some reason as I fell asleep. I don't know what happened but I felt myself get shook awake. I looked up and saw Betty checking on me.

"Betty?" I questioned with a dry throat.

"Are you alright?" She asked me. I went to get up but was hit by a wave of pain. What? I looked around and saw I was down stairs.

"How did I get down here?" I asked as I tried to get up.

"Don't move. I heard a noise and saw you on the ground, I think you fell down." She told me. I gave her a funny look.

"Betty I was in bed. I don't even _remember_ getting up at all." I told her as she, after checking me over, helped me up.

"Well you _must've_ unless you sleep walk." She told me.

"Betty, never have I once walked in my sleep. I must've been carried or something. I swear, if this was a prank from Archie, I'm tossing _him_ down the stairs." I said as I muttered the last sentence about Archie. Never the less Betty helped me up the stairs and, after Archie checked on us and I scolded him for the stairs and the insisting he didn't, went back to bed and slept through the whole night.

*Vlad's POV*

Once everyone was asleep I decided to pull out the note and read the words.

 _"Here my voice and come to me,_

 _hear my words like the sea,_

 _follow my voice so that we may be,_

 _together for all eternity._

 _Now you shall do what I want,_

 _or my voice will forever haunt,_

 _now you shall be what I wish,_

 _for this is my true dish._

 _Aria is my  lover's name, _

_I have loved only her_ _all the same,_

 _now follow me quietly and peacefully,_

 _and be mine for all eternity."_

I chanted and waited as I looked in the window. I soon saw my bride to be walking down the stairs. Her eyes glowed lightly like the potion. As soon as she was 1/3rd of the way down the glowing eyes stopped and she fell down the stairs. Betty Cooper, I remember her, came down and woke her up. They talked and then went up to bed. She didn't drink enough. I was close. So close. I'd have to try again tomorrow.

*Aria's POV*

I woke up with a groan. Man I was sore and tired. I then smelt pancakes. I practically leaped up and went to bolt down the stairs when Jughead entered with a tray of pancakes.

"Heard you fell down the stairs last night." He told me as I looked at him.

"Did Betty say that or Archie?" I asked him.

"Betty." Jughead said as he set the tray in front of me.

"I make chocolate chip strawberry with whipped cream." Jughead told me as I looked at the pancake. I blushed when I saw a red berry heart outlined on chocolate chips and whipped cream designed around it.

"Oh Jughead. It looks almost to good to eat." I told him as he laughed lightly.

"Well I wanted to bring it up so you didn't get hurt again." Jughead said as I then looked at him.

"Jughead, we both know I don't sleep walk. Someone must've moved me and then left or something. I'm actually worried." I told him as he pet my head and then kissed my forehead.

"I know. That's why Dilton, Archie and I are going to find out what. We're not telling the girls so we don't worry them." He told me as I smiled at him.

"I brought up a smoothie to help you feel better." I heard Dilton say as we looked over at the door and saw him holding a blue purple smoothie in his hand. He came over to us and handed it to me.

"How are you feeling?" Dilton asked me.

"I'm alright. Just tired and a bit sore." I said as I stretched and groaned out the last 3 words before smiling at them.

"You two didn't have to go through the trouble for me." I told them.

"None sense. You're no trouble at all." Jughead said.

"In fact we'd be horrible boyfriends if we didn't do anything after your fall." Dilton said as he kissed my cheek. I smiled a wide smile as we talked a bit. They soon left, a kiss from both, and I gulped down my food and smoothie. They tasted weird, a bit bitter, but I didn't want them to feel bad. I stretched and started to get up but then I felt light headed.

"Maybe a few more minutes." I mumbled before I flopped back on the bed and fell asleep instantly.

*Archie's POV*

After breakfast I decided to check on Aria. She never sleep walks, but then again she's never really gone camping nor spent the night in the woods before, and I thought the fact that she had fallen down the stairs and didn't know how she got there was weird. I was starting to smell a weird mystery. Especially when Dilton and Jughead pulled me aside to ask me to help them look for anyone or anything suspicious. I got to the room and saw she was asleep.

"Aria?" I called to her. She groaned lightly. I went over and saw she wasn't going to get up anytime soon. I know she hasn't been sleeping well so I decided to take her dishes and let her sleep. She needs it. Once I made it downstairs I told the gang to let her sleep a while and the guys and I started our search around the area to see if anyone or anything was around.

*Vlad's POV*

I waited until morning when I saw Jughead cooking and Archie come down.

"What ya making?" Archie asked.

"I'm making pancakes. Does Aria like strawberries and chocolate mixed?" I heard him ask.

"Yeah." Archie replied. Soon the others showed up and they chatted a bit.

"That reminds me, what was that loud thud I heard last night? Anyone know?" Dilton suddenly asked.

"Yeah. That was Aria last night. I found her at the bottom of the stairs and she claims she didn't know how she got there. I think she was sleep walking but she said she doesn't." Betty suddenly piped up.

"Wait she fell down the stairs?" Jughead asked as he flipped a pancake.

"Yeah. She thought Archie did that as a joke but I don't think so." Betty said.

"I didn't." Archie said in a bitter tone.

"She might be sore. I'll bring her breakfast in bed to cheer her up." Jughead said with a bright smile as I saw him prepare a special batch for her. I took this as my chance. I grabbed a twig and tossed it at the other window.

"What was that?" Veronica asked. While everyone looked away I poured some of the potion on the strawberry part of the top pancake.

"I don't see nothing." Archie said when he went up to check. I hid and watched Jughead bring the food upstairs.

"I'll make her a smoothie to get her energized." Dilton said as he began to make a smoothie for her. How perfect was this? Everyone finished breakfast and went into the living room to plan the day out. Once he was ready to blend I did the stick thing again. Dilton jumped and then went over to the window as I poured more of the potion in the blender. The potion was almost empty but that was fine. I'll make her drink the rest to make her mine and be what I want her to be. Dilton went over and mixed the smoothie and potion together. He Poured it into a glass cup for her and then headed up stairs to give that to her. I waited patiently until everyone left. I snuck into the cabin and ran up the stairs to find her. Once I did I went right over to her. I climbed up the bed and looked at her sleeping face. Still lovely as ever. I pulled out the paper and read the spell again.

 _"Here my voice and come to me,_

 _hear my words like the sea,_

 _follow my voice so that we may be,_

 _together for all eternity._

 _Now you shall do what I want,_

 _or my voice will forever haunt,_

 _now you shall be what I wish,_

 _for this is my true dish._

 _Aria is my  lover's name, _

_I have loved only her all the same,_

 _now follow me quietly and peacefully,_

 _and be mine for all eternity."_

I chanted and soon saw her eyes open and glow a gentle pink like color, like the potion, before rising up. She's under my control now.

"What do you wish master?" She questioned me in a hypnotic, yet lovely, voice.

"Pick me up then bring us to either an attic or basement." I commanded her. She nodded and did as she was told. She carried me to the attic as I looked around.

"Perfect. Now help me set a trap." I commanded and she willingly obliged. I set a trap for those teens and I would have Aria as mine forever.I roamed the attic and saw nothing nice for her to wear except some old doll clothes.

"Aria." I called to her as she sat on an antique looking chair.

"Yes master?" She questioned me. I only had a few hours of control so I had to make this quick.

"Did you bring any dresses to wear?" I asked her.

"No master. I don't ofter wear dresses." She told me as I groaned.

"Great. I wanted you dressed as a bride." I mumbled as she looked at me.

"May I, perhaps, make a suggestion?" She suddenly asked me. The potion's affects were to make her obey, and perhaps, love, or at least imitate/mimic love, me as long as the potion worked. I could make her do what I wanted. Perhaps she's doing this as part of the potion's 'love' effect.

"What?" I snipped as I turned back and threw a few old plastic dolls and a bunch of doll clothes aside.

"I am to be yours for all eternity correct?" She asked me.

"Yes yes, and?" I asked her.

"Well I will eventually die soon. What then?" She asked me as I froze.

"What are you getting at?" I asked her in a suspicious way as I slowly turned my head to look at her. She smiled a sweet smile while her eyes were still pink instead of blue.

"Perhaps you could turn me into a doll?" She suddenly asked me.

"Oh? How so?" I asked her.

"How did you get me to accept your love?" She asked me. No harm in telling her I suppose.

"You must never tell anyone." I ordered her.

"I swear." She promised.

"I stole a potion to control you. I tried to use it last night in your drink but failed. I snuck it in your food and smoothie that you devoured. So what?" I asked her.

"May I ask what the potion is called?" She asked me. I just looked at her but decided to tell her for my own amusement.

"Potion de désirs pieux. Why?" I asked her again.

"Potion of wishful desires. You wish and desire me as yours and now I am. Perhaps finishing the bottle will turn me into a doll as to never die unless destroyed so that I may be with you?" She said and then questioned. Of course. It was in French. The directions said to chant and insert the name and desire.

"I think that'll work. I already control you so maybe that would work. You really _are_ a guineas." I told her with a wide smile.

"Thank you master." She said as she waited my next order. I soon found a doll, that looked like a bride, and took the dress, shoes, and veil off it before chucking the doll. I put them aside and made sure everything was ready.

"Alright. All you have to do is call for help when I tell you too." I told her.

"Yes master." She replied as I told her to lay on the floor near the trap. I ran over and saw Dilton, Archie, and Jughead were looking around and calling for her.

"Now." I whispered to her.

"Help! Help I'm stuck!" She yelled out. I saw the attic door open up and they ran over to her. I then used the old fishing net and ropes and soon trapped them.

*Third POV*

Dilton, Archie and Jughead began to struggle and tried to break free but couldn't. They saw Aria on the ground.

"Aria! Help us!" Archie yelled but she didn't move.

"She won't listen to you, only me. She's mine now." Vlad laughed out as the boys gasped.

"That's a lie!" Jughead said in anger.

"Aria! Rise and show them how obedient you are." Vlad said as she then rose into a sitting position, legs bent on each side, and smiled at him.

"Yes master, as you wish." She said in a hypnotic way as they saw her eyes a pink like color instead of their usual bright blue.

"What did you do to her?" Dilton yelled out in shock.

"I found a potion to enslave her and I'll use it to fully make her mine. Maybe I could use this on you as well. It _does_ do what I want." Vlad mused as he swished the remaining potion around in the bottle. Aria was seeing this and in her mind she was begging him not too. How could she even give him the idea to turn her into a doll. It was almost as if the potion also made her think of what Vlad wanted to make him happy. It disgusted her. She had to think of a way to get them safe _and_ let him have her, for now.

"What do you think my dear?" Vlad suddenly asked. Aria decided to try and force her thoughts into words without twisting them.

"I don't think that is wise." She managed to say as she inwardly smiled.

"Oh? And why not?" Vlad asked in an amused manner. Was the potion wearing off?

"What if you need all of it to turn me completely?" She said as she smiled on the inside. Hopefully this would work or they'd be slaves as well.

"Why waste it on pathetic boys?" She suddenly added as she then felt horrible for saying that. She didn't want to say that at all but Vlad smiled as the three trapped boys gasped in shock.

"You're right. Why waste it on them." Vlad mused as he tried to think of another thought.

"Aria! What are you saying?" Archie yelled at her.

"She's thinking of ways to make me happy of course. The potion mimics her love for you to and puts it all to me instead. She'll obey me and have an imitation of love for me only." Vlad explained to them.

"Master?" Aria suddenly questioned.

"You may speak." Vlad told her as the boys watched her.

"Perhaps the person you stole the potion from would have something similar?" She questioned him on that.

"Perhaps." Vlad thought to himself.

"If we took the car and left them here they would not get to us in time and Betty's uncle is not due to arrive until Tuesday. Leave them tied up and trapped here for now. No help, no escape." She pointed out. Aria said this, with some pain, as she thought it would give them enough time to figure out a plan of escape or a way to follow them.

"I'm not even sure where it was. It was some cabin with a meowing dog." Vlad muttered out. So it _was_ Miss Lucinda's place. Aria smiled at them.

"I know that place. Miss Lucinda lives with a meowing dog. It makes sense now on where the potion came from. I can't drive but I could try to." Aria said with a small smile on her face.

"Oh no you don't! I won't let you!" Archie yelled out as the three struggled even more.

"I think it's a brilliant idea." Vlad commented as he walked over to her. Unknown to all, Betty and Veronica had grown worried when the boys didn't join them after a long while. When they came in to check on them they had heard talking in the attic and had listened in on a good portion of the conversation as they made a plan to free the guys.

"Hold this potion and, when I say drink, you drink it. Understood?" Vlad said as he gave Aria the potion.

"Yes master. As you wish." Aria replied as she took the potion. Vlad went and grabbed a baseball bat and went to hit the boys to knock them unconscious when Betty lunged at Vlad and Veronica went to get the boys loose.

"Drink!" Vlad yelled without hesitation as everyone froze and Aria drank down the potion.

 _"Here my voice and come to me,_

 _hear my words like the sea,_

 _follow my voice so that we may be,_

 _together for all eternity._

 _Now you shall be what I want,_

 _or my voice will forever haunt,_

 _now you shall be what I wish,_

 _for this is my true dish._

 _ Aria is my lover's name,_

 _I have loved only her all the same, _

_now follow me and transform peacefully,_

 _and be a doll for all eternity."_

Vlad chanted as he added in a few words and soon Aria began glowing and then shrunk. When all was said and done she had become a doll, with her clothes now too big and only in her underwear, as her shirt covered all of her with her holding it up. Vlad laughed before Betty lunged at him. Archie soon helped and Dilton opened him up as he screamed and struggled.

"Aria! I command you to-" Vlad started but then Dilton shut him off. He ripped out some wires just to make sure he was off permanently. Aria's eyes soon went to normal but she remained a doll of plastic and able to bend still.

"Wha-?" Aria started before she fell into a sitting position.

"Aria." Jughead yelped as the group surrounded her. She looked at them and saw how tall they were. She soon figured out she was still a doll.

"I'm still a doll. He can't control me anymore but now I'm a doll forever." Aria said as she looked sad.

"We'll figure this out." Archie told her.

"Betty? Can I have an outfit? I'm, uh, only in, um, panties." Aria said as she whispered the word panties to her.

"Yeah. Hold on. I think I have something you'd like." Betty said as she went over to a box and looked around. She soon pulled out an outfit ( Mai Valentine doll. images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=XhUYv2E7&id=DC9CF24B6F016072882E5962C57007913ECA246B&thid= 2E7fSLyp8MTPEvlhgClEs&q=mai+valentine+yu-gi-oh&simid=607997143851467452&selectedindex=93&mode=overlay&first=1) that looked like the purple was leather as it was on a broken blonde doll.

"I don't remember how she broke but you can have the outfit for now." Betty said as she and Veronica, while the boys looked away, dressed her up. Aria looked at the outfit.

"I actually like it." Aria said as she mused at it.

"But how do we transform you to normal?" Dilton questioned.

"Maybe Miss Lucinda could help. Vlad mentioned her meowing dog. If she made the potion then she can help me go back to normal." Aria figured out with a smile.

"Good idea." Archie agreed. Veronica carried Aria as they all piled into the car and drove off. While Veronica was brushing Aria's hair she spoke up.

"I'm sorry for the things I said. I didn't mean any of it." Aria said as she remembered her hurtful words towards them.

"That's alright. You had no control over your words." Jughead said as he forgave her.'

"Indeed. Vlad tricked us all and used us to turn you on us." Dilton agreed and comforted her as he too forgave her.

"Yeah. Maybe now he'll leave us alone." Archie said as he forgave her as well. It wasn't hard for them to forgive her. She wasn't herself at all. After a couple hours of driving, and Veronica using make up on her and styling her easy to style hair and putting tiny silver hoop earrings in her ears, they walked the rest of the way to Miss Lucinda's home. They knocked on her door and she answered.

"Yeah what?" She asked in an annoyed voice.

"Miss Lucinda, we need you help." Archie said to her.

"With what?" Miss Lucinda asked as Veronica held up Aria the doll to her.

"Hi Miss Lucinda." Aria said as Miss Lucinda gawked at her.

"Come in quick." Miss Lucinda said after a minute of shock. Once inside they explained exactly what happened and about Vlad.

"I see. And you drank it all?" Miss Lucinda asked as she wanted to confirm this.

"Yes." Aria said to her.

"Well luckily I have something to help." She said as she went to a shelf and grabbed a tiny shaker filled with blue and purple glitter.

"All we have to do is sprinkle this on you and you will be back to normal. So will those clothes with no Velcro either." Miss Lucinda explained as Veronica put her down. Aria went right up to her and readied herself.

"Alright. Let's do this!" Aria said with enthusiasm as she wanted to be normal, not just because of Veronica styling her but to not be a doll anymore. Miss Lucinda shook the glitter all over her and in a small glow she, and the clothes, grew until she was normal and flash like instead of a small plastic doll. Aria smiled and bounced around in happiness as she repeatedly thanked Miss Lucinda. She soon hugged everyone and was happy things were normal again. They all thanked Miss Lucinda for the help and apologized, not only for disturbing her, but for Vlad stealing the potion from her. They all decided to go back to the cabin and have the rest of the weekend to enjoy. Not only they hid Vlad in a box, taped it shut, and stored it in the attic, Betty also wasn't mad about the doll's outfit now a normal outfit and even let Aria keep it. They all enjoyed the weekend of swimming, playing, kissing, hiking, and summer weekend fun. Soon it was time to go as Archie and Aria dropped everyone off at home before they went home as well. After making sure everything was unpacked they used the evening to type up the weird mystery article.

*Aria's POV*

"And so that was our weekend. I'll say this, being trapped as a slave in an unwanted relationship was not fun at all. No will, no say, nothing. I never want to end up like that again. Not to mention being a doll wasn't fun either. I felt useless and helpless and that is something no one should feel like. ~Aria. It just goes to show all you readers out there that sometimes burying the past is not the best thing to do. You need to face it head on before it comes back to haunt you. ~Archie. Indeed. Many things can happen in life. Some times you might feel stuck or small, but with good friends, and an awesome cousin like mine, you can face them. ~Aria. Even if that something is a robot dummy who wants revenge and make your cousin a bride. ~Archie. In the end you should be with someone who makes you happy and gives you freedom. Anyone can find that if willing to look. ~Aria. ….Especially in a little town called Riverdale. ~Archie and Aria."

Archie and I finished the article, not to great a meaning but it was better than none, as I gave a small, squeaked yawn.

"Sorry this weekend didn't go as planned." Archie said as I smiled at him.

"Are you kidding? Other than being a mind controlled slave of a doll that was a fun weekend. We should do that again soon. The fun part not the potion morphing stuff." I said as I mentioned the not and the yes to stuff. Archie smiled and hugged me.

"Although I do wonder something." I said as I then pondered on my thought. Archie gave me a look as I stared back at him.

"Why do some of these weird thing revolve around me? I mean I've gotten hurt, kidnapped, lightly tortured, dressed up, mind controlled, transformed, almost became a bride twice, turned into a ghost of sorts, pulled into a type of limbo, seen heaven, had a ghost follow me and want me as a mom in a weird way, terrorized a bit by imps, had a robot like me, alien potatoes try to keep me in 'the zone' to morph into me, almost killed by your possessed car and live through horrible memories. I think I named them all. Why does that happen to me? Is there a story writer who loves to torture me of sorts or make me a type of Mary Sue character? (Lol. Mentioned me.) I'd like to know." I said as I sighed and felt tired again.

"Maybe Dilton could explain why." Archie said as I smiled lightly. Dilton was smart and if he didn't know Jughead might. I found out that Jughead and I were the 2nd smartest students in our school, Betty was 3rd, and, of course, Dilton was the 1st. Actually I was surprised with how smart Jughead was. Archie and I said our good nights as I changed into pajamas and went to bed.


	31. Chapter 30

Chapter 30: 25th Of June

*Aria's POV*

Today was Tuesday, June 25th to be exact, as I woke up at 7 in the morning. I was glad I had no nightmares as I slipped out of bed and went to my closet. I pulled out my uniform for work and went to the bathroom. It was shut, meaning someone was in there, and decided to knock.

"Hold on." I heard Archie say on the other side. I heard whispering and grew impatient.

"Archie. I need to shower and get ready." I said as I knocked again.

"In a minute." Archie said as I heard more whispers. What was going on.

"Archie Andrews I need to relieve myself!" I nearly shouted as I then heard a flush and water run before he opened the door.

"Alright I'm done!" He said in a tired tone as he walked out. I rolled my eyes and walked in. Why was he whispering and what was it about.

"Probably figuring out pick up lines for Betty or new compliments to Veronica." I mumbled as I finished my business before running the shower. I started to undress when I heard a knock.

"Oh for the love of, Yes?" I muttered before asking loud enough over the running water.

"Do you need a ride to work?" I heard Archie yell through the door.

"It would be easier yes." I said as I sighed.

"Okay. How about I teach you?" I heard him say before I stopped myself from hopping in the shower and looked at the door.

"What?" I asked him.

"I said how about I teach you? To drive I mean." Archie repeated himself. I was ready to pinch myself.

"Yeah~, Sure~, Sounds good." I exasperated out in case it was a joke.

"Okay. Just hurry up so we can leave early." He told me as I heard him leave. Weird. I shrugged and started to shower. I had started my singing 'Shot through the heart' by Bon Jovi as I danced a bit.

*Archie's POV*

I had been in the bathroom talking to Veronica about setting up a party when Aria knocked on the door and, after a while, I hung up and acted like I just finished up. I then had the idea to bring her to work and talk to Pops about holding the party there. Aria agreed to letting me take her to work as I got ready and called Reggie, Betty, Jughead, Dilton, and Veronica back. I decided to talk to everyone else later and talked to mom and dad about the party. They thought it was a wonderful idea and we decided not to remind Aria of her birthday to make it a better surprise. Today was going to be perfect for her. Hopefully. I was talking with mom and dad about setting up the party somewhere and teaching her to drive as we heard the water stop and could hear her singing in a merry mood. I hurried upstairs and got dressed for the day.

*Aria's POV*

I got in my uniform and did my makeup the same way as last time except I added tiny white bows in my pigtails and hurried downstairs.

"Archie! Hurry up!" I yelled out to him as I shoved my extra clothes in my bag and grabbed my skates.

"I'm coming I'm coming." He said loudly as he ran down the steps. We went outside and then he tossed me his keys before going to the passenger side door.

"What?" I questioned in a flat tone.

"I told you I was teaching you to drive on your way to work. I wasn't lying and mom and dad said it was a good idea." Archie told me as I gulped. I was nervous because I didn't want to damage Betsy at all. I mean I was over the possessed car thing and her nearly killing me and all that but I still thought this car was beautiful and didn't want to ruin it at all. I got into the driver's side and buckled up before locking the doors.

"Don't be nervous. I'm right here." Archie comforted me as he buckled up.

"I hate it when you can tell I'm nervous." I told him as I sighed. I put the keys in and started the car right up. I made sure the seat and mirrors were adjusted before slowly driving off onto the road. Lucky me I didn't have to back up. I was trying to relax as I managed to drive to work in one piece. Archie told me how to back the car up into the parking spot and I was doing good until the tires hit the sidewalk.

"Oops." I muttered as I pulled forward a bit and parked.

"That's alright. It's a big car to get used to." Archie comforted me as I smiled and sighed a breath of relief. I then looked at the time and freaked.

"I'm almost late!" I shouted as I bolted out of the car, with my stuff, and ran inside to punch in. Once I did that, on time, I clipped my skates on and got to work. Pops was talking to Archie before he was handed a to go soda and left. I shrugged it off and continued with my work. It felt like there weren't too many people today but I kept at it. I had cleaned up a few tables and mopped the floor when Jughead came in and sat down at a booth. I skated over to Pops.

"Jughead's here, heads up, I'll get his order." I told Pops as he nodded and I went over.

"Hey Jug, The usual?" I asked him as I skated to a stop and pulled out my notebook and pencil.

"Hey Aria, What ya doing after work?" He asked me. I had to think about it.

"I don't know really." I said as I put the flat end of my pencil to my lips.

"Anyways, you want the usual?" I shook my head before I asked him.

"Is my tab all set?" Jughead asked as I looked in the back of the book to see his limit before looking at him.

"Yeah. You can get 5 more burgers with fries and a soda before you hit the limit and have to pay Pops back." I told him as he sighed.

"Alright. I'll get that and then pay him back later today." He said as I smiled at him.

"Coming right up." I said in a cheery voice as I went over to Pops and told him what he wanted and that he'd hit the tab limit after. Pops smiled and told me to deliver the to go order's in the parking lot. The way that worked is people would call and then confirm before paying inside or from the car. Then they'd wait in the car until the food was done, if it wasn't yet. I smiled and held the bags with the recipes and names stabled to each one as I skated outside. I skated up to the driver window with a smile.

"Name please?" I asked as I saw a couple kids from school. I recognized them as they told me the name on the food. I handed them the bags and gave them the total. They gave me some cash before they said to keep the change before I smiled and waved them off. I wrapped the recipe around the money and put it in my apron pocket. I skated from car to car and used the loose bills and change I had to give change when needed. I finished up and went inside to see Veronica and Betty talking to Pops at a booth. I shrugged it off as I went back to check on Jughead. I noticed he was gone but there was a note for me.

'Aria,

Had to run but I'll catch up with you later.

Jughead.' I read the note.

"Huh. Alright." I muttered as I cleaned the table and continued with work.

"Ah hey Aria." Pops waved me over. I skated over to him.

"Yeah Pops?" I asked him.

"Listen I don't need you right now so I'm relieving you early but can you come in at 4pm?" He asked me. It was only 12 in the afternoon.

"Alright. Are you sure?" I questioned him.

"Yeah. I'm sure." He said with a smile. I smiled back and nodded as I went to change into my blue one sleeve top and my shorts with my boots and black fingerless gloves on still. I kept my hair and makeup the same and was soon out of Pops. I ran into Jughead and smiled and waved him down.

"Jughead." I shouted as he turned and noticed me.

"Hey." He said as he swooped me up in a hug.

"Wanna come with me? I was heading to the pet store to get Hot Dog a new bed." Jughead told me as I smiled at him.

"Sure! I'd love to go." I said with a bright smile as he and I walked to the pet store together. We got there and I saw a bunch of adorable puppies in the front window.

"Oh my cuteness!" I squeaked out as I ran up to the window and looked at all the cute puppies.

"So cute!" I said as one of them saw me and waddled over to me.

"This is a special pet store." Jughead told me as I then looked at him.

"How so?" I asked him.

"Well I found out that most of the pets here are rescues that need homes. They have older animals, younger ones, and ones they saved from sickness and injuries. Unfortunately some are permanently injured." He told me as I gasped and looked at him.

"I buy things here to help them out." Jughead added in.

"Can I see the others?" I asked him as he knew what I meant.

"If they let you then sure." He said as I nodded my head. We went inside and I saw a lot of animals stuff and a few animals in cages. They looked healthy. Jughead took me to the back and I saw a few injured looking ones. I saw a half blind cat, a bunny with a missing foot, you name it I saw it. I wanted to cry after seeing the very few like this. I looked at them and then I saw a dog, a puppy possibly, in a cage put away from the rest of the dogs. Weird. I went over to it but was stopped by shop owner.

"I wouldn't go near that beast unless you want to get hurt." He warned me as I looked at him.

"Why not?" I asked him.

"That mutt is vicious and is going to be put down." He told me as I looked at the dog and tilted my head.

"Doesn't look vicious." I said as I looked closely at the dog. I could see German Shepherd in it as he just looked at me right back. He was baring teeth but not growling at all. His eyes were blue, like mine, so he was mixed with something and his fur looked a bit thin, as did he, and he looked smaller than most but what I found weird was he had floppy spotted ears.

"I can see German shepherd in him but what else is he?" I asked the shop owner.

"Australian shepherd." He said as I looked at the shepherd mix again.

"How old?" I asked again.

"He's a year old. What's it matter? He's not for sale if he's not friendly." He said as I kept looking at the dog.

"What did he do?" Jughead asked the owner.

"He's one of the abused dogs we found. He's been starving and beaten up badly. Even a few burns here and there. He was found outside of here and we only know he came here from another state. Dog traveled a long way to escape his home. Only problem is now he won't eat and he tries to bite people." The shop owner said, distracted by Jughead, as I took this as I chance to walk over to the cage.

"Hey there." I whispered as the dog backed up and bared his teeth at me.

"It's alright." I whispered as he soon stopped baring teeth at me.

"That's it." I said as he slowly came closer to me.

"I know how rough it is. I've had it rough too bud." I said as I put my hand close to the cage door. He was smelling my hand slowly.

"I know what it's like, to be hurt, burned, starved, alone. You won't get anywhere though if you don't stop this. I was lucky to get a second chance and I know you will too." I told him as he poked his nose out one of the holes of the cage.

"I'm Aria." I told him as I saw his tail wag.

"Are you a good boy?" I asked as he let out a mighty bark.

"Good boy!" I said as the dog laid down and showed me his tummy.

"Well I'll be." The shop owner said as I smiled at the dog.

"He just needs time." I said as I smiled at the dog. I didn't see Jughead grinning and pull the owner to the side. I talked with the dog and earned a few barks and before I knew it it was time to go. The dog whimpered and whined as I looked at him with a broken heart.

"I wish I could adopt him but I don't think Aunt Mary nor Uncle Fred would let me." I said as Jughead smiled and rubbed my back.

"If it makes you feel any better the shop owner said he'd keep him up for a little longer to try and improve his mood." Jughead said as I smiled at that.

"Yeah. That does help." I said as we wondered around a bit.

"Jughead do you have the time?" I asked him.

"Yeah it's 10 minutes to four." He told me as I gasped.

"I'm going to be late for work." I yelped out.

"I know a short cut." Jughead said as he took my wrist and we ran off to Pop's. We got there and, for some reason, the lights were off.

"Pops? You okay?" I yelled out the question. I grew worried until the lights came on.

"Surprise!" I heard as I saw a banner that said 'Happy Birthday Aria!' on it and some balloons and streamers all over the place. I saw my friends, Dilton, Archie, and Pops behind the counter with a smile on each face.

"What?" I asked in shock.

"Happy birthday!" Archie shouted out as I then covered my mouth. Today was June 25th. June 25th was my birthday. I forgot my own birthday.

"I can't believe I forgot my own birthday." I said in shock as Jughead led me over to a chair at the bar area as I smiled at all of them.

"How could you forget?" Veronica asked me.

"I don't celebrate it much. I guess that's why." I said as I sighed with a smile on my face. I soon heard music and looked so see Pops wheeling over a large cake, big enough for everyone, with a one and six candle on it. It was in white frosting with black music notes on it and black and purple frosting flowers all over it. It also read 'Happy Birthday Aria' in purple frosting. I was ready to cry as Archie was taking pictures.

"Go ahead and make a wish." Archie said to me as I looked at the cake, then everyone, then the cake again. What could I wish for? I had everything I've always wished for every year since I was 8. I closed my eyes and took a big breath.

*I wish things could stay this good for me.* I thought as I blew out the candles. I heard everyone clapping and I opened my eyes. I then heard music and saw food being served. I then felt someone give me a hug.

"It feels weird to not have me call you to wish you a happy birthday huh?" Archie said as I looked at him and hugged him.

"Thank you Archie. You're the best cousin I could ever ask for." I said as he hugged me back. I then saw a flash and heard a camera click. I pulled back and looked at Jughead.

"How am I not going to get this?" Jughead asked as I laughed lightly.

"Hey Archie? Where's Uncle Fred and Aunt Mary? And who paid for the party and planned it?" I asked him in curiosity.

"Don't worry about that. Mom and dad have it all covered. I was trying to plan this morning when you knocked on the bathroom door. Veronica couldn't hold the party at her place so I talked to Pops and he agreed to this. Also Mom and dad should be here shortly with your gift." He told me as I tilted my head in curiosity. A gift for me? Suddenly Pops handed me a piece of cake and my stomach growled.

"I forgot to eat today." I said as I enjoyed the, just found out it was chocolate, cake. I smiled and ate the cake and had some food with some soda. Soon it was time to open gifts. I got so much stuff. New makeup, vintage jewelery, Archie gave me a crystal ball on a black dragon holder, an expensive dress from Veronica, a few Disney snow globes, some horror movies, Dilton gave me a few science, mystery and horror books. I smiled and thanked everyone. I then at a smiling Jughead.

"Hey Aria. What's the one thing you've always wanted?" Jughead suddenly asked me as I tilted my head curiously at him.

"Huh?" I asked as I tried to think about it.

"What was the one thing you wanted but couldn't have at all?" He asked me as I then went wide eyed.

"You didn't." I said as Jughead smiled at me.

"That depends. I didn't do what?" He asked me as I then heard the door open. I looked over and saw my aunt as she edged me outside.

"You got him!" I shouted as I bolted out the door and looked at the parking lot to see my uncle with a leash. On the leash I saw a dog, the same dog I saw in the pet store, as his ears perked up and his tail started wagging with his tongue sticking out and looking happy to see me. I covered my mouth and looked at him. My uncle smiled as I bolted over in tears. I then bent down and hugged the happy dog as he let me and kissed me. Everyone came outside and saw me hugging the dog and him kissing me and all antsy. I looked over at Jughead and smiled with tears falling down.

"Jughead." I said as the dog licked my tears away.

"He needed a good home and Archie's parents said it was alright as long as you take responsibility. That's why I had you go with me. I know you want to save animals and I figured if I saw which one you liked the most then that would be one more saved." Jughead saved as I suddenly bolted over to him and hugged him. We both fell over as we hugged.

"Jughead I love him! Thank you!" I said in pure joy as I then heard my uncle yell out before I felt fur and slobbery kisses. I opened my arm and my new friend rolled me off Jughead before having me cuddle him and him kissing my tears away. I was smiling and laughing.

"What are you gonna name him?" Dilton suddenly asked me as I looked at the dog and he looked right back at me. I wanted to name him something strong willed but also something filled with kindness. I thought about it.

"I guess I'll call him Allegro." I said as he licked my face. Guess he liked the name. I grabbed his leash and told him to not hurt my friends or growl at them. He sat there and listened like a good dog. Once the party was over Archie brought me and Allegro home. I got inside and Uncle Fred wanted to talk to me. I went over and we sat on the couch together, with Allegro at my feet, as I listened to him.

"I don't mind you having a dog as long as you stay responsible for him." He told me as I nodded my head and kept listening.

"I also want to know why you got a part time job? Don't get me wrong, I think it's a wonderful idea, but I'm curious as to why." He told me as I sighed.

"Well for one thing I should earn money on my own, second thing is it would look good on future college applications along with an after school activity like the school choir I did, also I want to save up for my own car soon." I told him as he sighed with a smile.

"If you want a car then your aunt and I can help." He said as I shook my head no.

"I want to save up and earn half of it at least." I told him as he smiled.

"Alright. If you can save up $3,000 then we'll look for a car." He told me as I smiled and hugged him.

"Thank you Uncle Fred. I'm close to $1,000 already." I told him as he pulled me away and looked at me.

"I've saved most of my allowance along with babysitting the twins and working for Pops." I said as he laughed lightly.

"Then maybe we should get you a bank account and an ATM card only for now." He told me as I smiled at him.

"If you want to do that." I said as he nodded his head. I got up and found Aunt Mary in the kitchen and hugged her suddenly.

"Thank you Aunt Mary." I said as she gave a surprise oh while I spoke to her.

"You're welcome dear. You're family you know." She said as she turned around and hugged me. I went to Archie's room, with Allegro following me, as I found Archie and hugged him.

"Thank you so much Archie." I said as he saw a few tears fall down my face.

"I couldn't have asked for a better birthday." I said as he held me close to him.

"It's no problem. You're my cousin but you feel more like a sister to me. I'd do anything to see you happy." He said as Allegro barked. We looked at him and saw his tail wagging.

"I think Allegro agrees." Archie said as we chuckled a little. I then had Allegro follow me to my room and showed him my bed. I changed and hopped in bed as Allegro jumped up and snuggled next to me.

"Goodnight Allegro." I said as he gave a small gentle bark and kissed my cheek before he laid his head down and we both fell asleep.


	32. Chapter 31

Chapter 31: Virtually Evil!

*Aria's POV*

It's now Friday and I was working at Pop Tate's for a 6 hour shift as evening rolled around. I was serving food around as Archie, Reggie, and Jughead were sitting around talking. From what I found out, Reggie won a basketball game and Archie lost again, Archie was stuck paying for himself and Reggie and Jughead, as usual, got a free meal from Archie. I could tell Reggie was rubbing it in Archie's face and I felt bad. I then saw Jughead do a cheer and Reggie motion at Jughead while Archie pouted. I skated over to them.

"Do you need the bill?" I asked them.

"Just give it to Archie." Reggie said as I sighed.

"Reggie, you need to learn to stop bragging." I said to him.

"You're no better." Archie pointed out.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" I asked in a huff as I put a hand on my hip.

"Every time you beat me in a video game you brag about it." Archie pointed out.

"Not my fault I'm good at shooting games and DDR. Also not my fault that I got a no scope either. Do you _know_ how hard those are to get?" I said as I stressed out the no scope part. Seriously man, a no scope is legendary in games. Also been good at Dance Dance Revolution and karaoke games because I loved them a lot.

"Whatever." Archie sulked as I got mad.

"I _was_ going to pay for you but now you can pay for yourself." I said as I skated off to get the bill. I could hear Reggie laughing as I sighed. I went to bring the bill over when I saw the girls dragging him off.

*Oh no he doesn't!* I thought as I skated into high gear and blocked them from leaving.

"Hold it! Archie still has a bill to pay!" I said as I gave him the bill.

"Hehehe." He chuckled nervously as he gave me money for it.

"Hey Aria, there's a virtual circus near the mall, wanna come?" Betty suddenly asked me. I looked over at the clock before back at her.

"If you guys wait about 10 minutes then we can all go together. My shift should be done now." I said to them.

"Sure. We'll be in the car." Archie said as the girls dragged him off. I smiled and skated over to Pops.

"Pops, do you need me to do anything else before I leave?" I asked him.

"Nope. You're all set. Oh! Here's your daily tips and your pay check." Pops told me as he then handed me my tips and then my pay. I handed him Archie's bill with the money on it and smiled at him. I thanked him and rushed into the bathroom to change into my purple leather outfit I got from Betty when I turned into a doll and just substituted the pink eye shadow to purple and added a tough of purple eyeliner to go with my black. I undid my hair from the pigtails and shook it out to leave it down. I then rushed out to the car to see Jughead in the car. I smiled and hopped in to cuddle next to Jughead. Archie told me Reggie would follow us there. Great~. Either way we made it to the virtual circus. I wonder why it's called that. I looked around and soon saw why. Everything was like a video game, well sort of.

"Come one come all! I am the ring master and I invite you to, submerge yourself into a computer chair to be in an animated world so real, That you can't tell the difference between fantasy and reality!" I heard as I saw a tall man with slicked back white hair in a black suit with a cane talking as he had also caught my cousin's attention.

"You sir!" He said as he pointed the top of his cane to my cousin.

"Me?" He questioned as we gathered around to hear this.

"Would you like to save your friends and fight off a bunch of troggs and be the hero in my new virtual reality game?" The ring master, as he calls himself, asks Archie. Honestly I was interested.

"What's a Trogg?" I asked him out of curiosity.

"I'm glad you asked young lady. They are gruesome, loathsome, and troublesome terrors from the virtual world." He said as he pointed his cane to each of us. He then put a hand on Archie's shoulder.

"Are you ready to be dropped in a maze full of these monsters with only your flash blaster and wits to save you?" He asked Archie. I was sold.

"I know I am!" I said as I stepped forward.

"Bring it on!" I said as I pumped my fist in the air. I was super pumped now.

"That's the enthusiasm I love to see. Anyone else?" He asked as Archie thought about it.

"Gee, I don't know." Archie started saying as I sighed.

"I'll take on the Troggs to protect Doll Face there." Reggie said as I puffed my cheeks out.

"I don't need saving. And stop calling me Doll Face!" I pouted the first sentence before I nearly shouted the second one. Ever since being turned into a doll I've _really hated_ the nickname more so.

"Me too! Aria and I will work together!" Archie said as I jumped, clapped and cheered.

"Yay!" I said in excitement as I then clung onto Archie.

"The Super Gingers are back in town!" I shouted as everyone looked at me funny.

"Aria~! _Why_ did you have to say that?" Archie whined and asked.

"Because we are. Orange haired people are called gingers and that was our team name remember?" I asked him as he groaned.

"How could I forget." He groaned out as Reggie laughed.

"Super Gingers? Ha! What a dumb team name!" Reggie laughed out.

"Is not! That was our team name since we were 5 and that'll _never_ change." I said as Reggie laughed harder.

"Come on Archie! Let's show him!" I said as I started dragging him onto the stage.

"Whoa!" He yelped out as he tried to keep balance. I was going to wipe that smugness off of Reggie one way or another. I then saw Betty and Veronica join us. I looked over at Jughead.

"Hey Jughead! Wanna join?" I asked him.

"No thanks. I'd like some _actual_ food though." Jughead said as I giggled. He was always hungry.

"You look like a churro man." The ring master suddenly said.

"I'm open to all delicacies from the deep fryer thank you." Jughead said as the ring master started to show him to the stand.

"Hang on!" I shouted as I darted over to him and handed Jughead a five.

"Get me a couple please?" I asked him. He smiled and pulled me in for a hug with one arm and used his hand, that had the five I gave him, to slip it back in my pocket as he then kissed my cheek.

"My treat." He said as he gave me a wink and walked off with the ring master. I started to blush lightly as I went back to the group.

"What's wrong?" Betty asked me.

"Nothing. He said the churro's are his treat." I said as Reggie nearly fell over from shock.

"Dang Doll Face, You must be a witch or something, because Jughead never pays for anyone and sometimes not even himself." Reggie pointed out the obvious as I sighed in aggravation. Before I could say anything the two came back and we all paid for our tickets before sitting in the chairs. He was explaining things while I examined the chairs from my view.

"This looks incredible. Dilton would've loved to see this." I said as I was then being reclined back and a helmet was put on me. In a flash of light I blinked and looked to see we were all in a cave and I was in a silver metallic jumpsuit. Actually we all were. I heard the ring master explain the rules as I looked at the cool weapon. I liked it.

"Can we blast each other?" Reggie asked suddenly.

"Please say yes so I can repeatedly shoot him." I said up to the ceiling.

"Well yes. None of this can actually harm you since this is a game grid but shooting each other will also give you points." The ring master said as I grinned.

"Better watch your back Reggie. It might not actually hurt you but I'll make sure to beat you." I said with a strong voice, fire in my eyes, and a goal for Archie and I.

"Ha! Bring it on, Doll Face!" Reggie mocked and soon the game began. I immediately shot Reggie twice and made a run for it.

"Hey! No fair!" Reggie yelled out.

"Alls face when you face the Super Gingers!" I yelled to him while hiding. I then saw something right where I was hiding. It was tall, green, muscular, and kinda cool looking. My guess is that it was a Trogg as I aimed and shot at it. It cringed before disappearing.

"Looks like Aria's in the lead." I heard the Ring master say as I smiled proudly. After a while of shooting Troggs, and mostly Reggie, I met up with Archie and we soon took out a huge hoard of Troggs together. He was shooting Reggie, Betty and Veronica while I mostly shot at Reggie. I didn't want to shoot the girls but I did every now and then. I wasn't as bad as Archie though, well except to Reggie. To be fair, he had it coming for a long while. After I shot three more Troggs and Reggie once more the game ended. I soon saw Jughead in front of me and Archie.

"Congratulations you two. You won!" Jughead said as I looked at my cousin and he looked at me. The seating order was me, Archie, Reggie, Betty and then Veronica.

"Huh? We did?" We both asked at the same time as we looked over at the ring master.

"Indeed you did. Never once have I seen anyone tie in my game before." The ring master complimented as the top bulbs of our helmets began glowing.

"What now?" Reggie asked with an attitude.

"Your friends, The Super Gingers, have both earned an equal amount of point to tie and win the game." The ring master commented as Archie and I smiled.

"Ah! I did it! I beat Reggie! I beat everyone!" Archie shouted with glee as I smacked him.

"Ow." Archie said as he looked at me.

" **We** did it! **We** beat Reggie! **We** beat everyone!" I emphasized as he chuckled and his cheeks turned pink from embarrassment.

"Hehe. Right. We did. Together." Archie said as I then smiled and puffed my chest out and held my head up with pride.

"Exactly!" I said proudly. I could _feel_ the anger coming off Reggie at the fact that he lost to both of us, especially Archie.

"No way, best two outta three." Reggie challenged as he pointed a finger at both of us.

"You're on!" Archie and I replied at the same time as we accepted and played again. I wasn't aiming so much at Reggie this time as we played. Soon the game was over again.

"And the winners are Archie and Aria Andrews!" The ring master said as Reggie got mad.

"What?! One more time!" Reggie yelled as I got up from the seat.

"Let it be one on one." I said as I went over to Jughead and took one of the churro's he handed me. I haven't had churro's since I was six so this was like a rare treat for me. As I was eating I saw that, after a few games went by, Betty and Veronica start to leave. Guess they got bored and didn't like the fact Archie kept shooting them. We all left to get more churro's to eat. I ended up buying fried oreo's and fell in love with them. I bought Jughead some to go with his churro as we all went over to a bench to eat and watched as Archie rubbed it in Reggie's face again.

"Is it just my imagination, or is all this winning going straight to Archie's head?" Jughead asked us.

"No it is. Am I really that bad though?" I asked as I asked Jughead. We both recalled Archie and I playing a game and, when I won, I bragged about it a lot.

"Kinda. Not as bad as Archie's getting and _definitely_ not as bad as Reggie." Jughead admitted as I then felt a bit bad. Archie needed to stop this or else he'd learn the hard way. I know I still need to learn and I'll start trying.

"At least you didn't shoot us constantly." Veronica added in.

"And the second time you didn't shoot Reggie as much." Betty added as well.

"Well I don't need to shoot people over and over to show how good I can get and~ I'm doing it again aren't I?" I asked as they nodded.

"Sorry." I mumbled out as I watched Archie rub his victory in Reggie's face again.

"I've had enough." I said as I went up to Archie and yanked him up.

"Archie that's enough! You're becoming a jerk like Reggie is." I pointed out.

"Hey.~ You didn't have to say it like that!" Reggie pouted as I glared at him.

"So what? You do it all the time." Archie pointed out.

"And I'm sorry but this is more than ridiculous." I told him as he scoffed.

"You're just jealous because I can win without your help." Archie scolded. I lost it. I yanked Reggie out of the chair and sat in it.

"Then let's see which ginger is the better Trogg hunter!" I challenged and soon the game began. Once the game started I immediately hid from Archie. I shot only Troggs and he got me a few times. I then ran into a big one as he glared at me.

"Huh?" I questioned as he stared at me.

"Aria Andrews." He hissed as I freaked out.

"What the frog?" I yelped out as I shot it. It didn't disappear though.

"Uh oh." I said as I backed up.

"Archie!" I shrieked.

"I'm not falling for tha-whoa!" He started saying before he yelped out and saw the thing.

"He's not going away." I said as Archie shot him as well. He still didn't go away.

"Archie and Aria Andrews." He hissed out as I tried not to panic. I took two steps back and as soon as I did the game ended and we were brought back. Betty pilled Archie out of the chair as Jughead did with me. We saw his computer fritzing and the chairs did the same.

"What happened?" I asked in a small daze.

"I'm sorry kids, but it looks like my computer is malfunctioning. It might be overloading or something." He said as I saw a specific spark pattern. I darted over and pulled the ring master back, collapsing on the ground in the process, as the computer then gave a small explosion. Soon a fire started and I froze up. I had flashbacks of me being on fire and I couldn't move. I felt arms wrap around me and pick me up. Once the fire was put out I snapped out of my daze and saw Jughead holding me.

"Are you alright?" He asked me as he put me down. My eyes watered up as I shook my head no and hugged him. He comforted me as he walked me away from the group to calm down.

"You froze up back there. What happened?" He asked me as I started taking shaky breaths. He had me look at him as he saw pure fear in my eyes.

"Oh, I get it." He told me as he kissed my lips lightly. Once he pulled back I calmed down a bit.

"I'm….Sorry." I whispered out as Jughead shook his head.

"Don't be. It makes sense that you're afraid of fire." He told me as I looked at him.

"Don't tell anyone please. I don't even think Archie knows." I told him as he held me close.

"I won't." He said as he held me close. Once I calmed down a bit more Jughead took me to the car where Archie was waiting.

"There you two are." Archie said as I looked around.

"Where's Betty and Veronica?" I asked him.

"Reggie took them home." Archie said.

"Guess they didn't want to hang out with a sore winner." I pointed out as Archie grumbled about it. We then got in the car and Archie dropped Jughead off before we went home. I got there and saw Allegro waiting for me. He had been laying down in front of the door and when he saw me he began hopping around before he jumped on me. I fell with an oof as he kissed me. I started laughing.

"Allegro. Down boy." I laughed out as he obeyed and sat in front of me. Aunt Mary and Uncle Fred greeted us as we enjoyed dinner together. I saw the Brussels sprouts and yucked at it.

"Those are good for you." Aunt Mary said as I glared at them. I ate my chicken and my rice as I, little by little, gave my greens to Allegro. He ate them for me and I rewarded him with a small bit of chicken.

"Aria! No feeding the dog at the table." Uncle Fred scolded as I inwardly shrunk back.

"Sorry Uncle Fred." I muttered as I pet Allegro and looked at him.

"Lay down boy." I said as he laid under my chair. After dinner I went upstairs and took a shower to get the fire smell off me. Once I was done I opened the door to Allegro waiting there for me, playing body guard, as he got up and followed me to my room. I slipped into bed with him hopping in with me and laying by my feet. Ever since I got him I had been training him and he listens well to me. It was like we were connected in a way. I smiled at that as I went to sleep. I ended up waking up twice in a fright, with Allegro comforting me, as soon morning rolled around. Man was I glad it was Saturday. I was exhausted. I wanted to sleep in but Allegro was pawing me and whining.

"Alright." I mumbled as I slowly got up. He followed me all the way to the back yard as I grabbed a bag and cleaned up his stool. I then went inside to see Archie making food.

"Where's Aunt Mary and Uncle Fred?" I asked him as he looked at me.

"Dad went on a last minute business trip and mom went out for the day." He told me as I nodded. I stretched and yawned lightly as I went to the fridge.

"How'd you sleep?" He asked me as I sighed.

"I'm still tired." I said as I yawned again.

"Another nightmare?" He asked me.

"Yeah. Same one except worse." I said as I yawned again.

"We still need to see who's the champion." He told me as I quickly caught on.

"Later today alright? I need to talk Allegro on a W-A-L-K." I said as I spelled out the words as to not get Allegro antsy. I pulled out eggs, turkey lunch meat, cheese, and milk from the fridge before pulling out a few spices from the rack. I turned on the stove and oiled up the pan and soon was making two omelets.

"Making eggs?" Archie asked me.

"Yeah. Omelets." I said as I soon finished making them. I put one on a plate and put the other one in Allegro's bowl to eat.

"Mom and dad are going to get mad about that." Archie said as I rolled my eyes.

"My dog Archie. Besides, I only do this when they're not home. He deserves good food every now and then." I said as I poured a tiny bit of peach juice in a bowl for him to drink followed by some in a cup for me.

"If they find out I'm not bailing you out." Archie said as I rolled my eyes again.

"Yeah whatever." I said as I scarfed down my breakfast. Allegro looked happy as his bowls were licked clean of everything. I put them away and then went upstairs to get dressed. I got dressed in my purple outfit I got when I was a doll, dub name purple punk doll outfit, and then went downstairs. I had decided to try and teach Allegro to get his leash for me. I grabbed the dog bags and filled a baggie with dog treats before putting them in my jacket pocket and walked near the front door.

"Alright Allegro. Lets try again. You wanna go for a walk?" I asked as he then started running and jumping around.

"Alright boy. Lets get ready. Can you…..Get my skates?" I asked as he tilted his head from side to side.

"Come on. I showed you this. Can you get my skates?" I asked as he then went to my skates and pawed at them.

"Yes, there they are. Can you bring them to me?" I asked as he looked at me. I sighed.

"This is going to take longer than I thought." I muttered as I rubbed my temples before looking at him.

"Bring me the skates boy." I said as he grabbed one and brought it to me.

"Good boy. And the other?" I asked as he went over to it and finally gave it to me.

"Good boy." I said as I pet him and pulled out a treat for him.

"Okay. Now where's your leash?" I asked as he went over to the small table next to the door where I always put it.

"Yes. Bring it." I sad as he grabbed it and brought it over. Finally.

"Good boy!" I said cheerfully and gave him another treat.

"You've been doing good with him." Archie told me as I smiled.

"It takes time but it works out eventually." I said as I clipped the black leash onto his light blue collar and went outside.

"Allegro sit." I said as he sat down.

"I'm going to test him out on my skates to see how well that goes." I told Archie as he walked outside before shutting the door and locking it.

"You sure that's a good idea?" He asked me.

"Not really but I can't teach him if I don't try." I told him as Archie sighed.

"Just be careful." He told me. I stood up and looked at him.

"I will." I said as I looked at Allegro.

"Let's go Allegro." I said. He barked and soon we were off. I let him pull me down the route we were getting used to until we hit a street corner. I tugged Allegro's leash and he looked at me.

"Let's go." I said as I guided him into town. I took Allegro around the entire town and even named the landmarks over and over so he would know in case of an emergency. I showed him all my friends houses, except Veronica's, and brought him to Pop's. I went inside and went right up to Pops at the register.

"Hey Pops, can I get 12 burgers and a soda to go?" I asked him as he then looked at Allegro and knew why.

"Aria, I don't like dogs in my restaurant." Pops said as I sighed.

"I know. I'll make sure to wait outside. I just didn't want to leave him tied up out there is all." I said as he understood.

"He's a good dog Pops. He really is." I said as I paid him and skated outside to wait. I pulled out a bottle of water and a tiny bowl and filled it for Allegro and gave it to him. He drank it down as I gave him more. I had been smart enough to carry two bowls for his water just in case. I saw Archie come out with my burgers and soda.

"We've got a weird mystery." Archie said as I smiled.

"Cool." I replied as I picked up Allegro's bowl and guided him into the car. I saw Jughead run out to meet us so he sat up front with Archie and I sat in the back with Allegro. Now we were driving to who knows where.

"Where we going?" I asked as I pulled a burger out for Allegro before I unwrapped one for me.

"The arca-Hey! Don't feed him in my car!" Archie yelped out as I fed Allegro a third burger.

"He's hungry. We both are." I said as Archie groaned.

"I'm gonna have to vacuum again." He said as I rolled my eyes. After we ate Archie got out of the car and I followed.

"Allegro. Stay." I said as Allegro sat in the car and barked. He'd wait. Archie was showing me when we both looked up and gasped.

"It's gone!" I said in shock.

"Told ya Arch. Now can we go back to Pop's?" Jughead asked as I looked at the paper.

"Jughead, we were just at Pop's. How can you still be hungry?" Archie asked him.

"Archie this is Jughead we're talking about. Actually I think I partially solved that mystery." I said as Jughead and Archie looked at me.

"Huh? You have?" Archie asked me as I looked at them with a smile.

"Yup." I said enthusiastically.

"Well tell me." Archie said as I wiggled my figure back and forth.

"Tut tut tut. One mystery at a time." I said as he groaned.

"Fine." Archie said as Jughead stiffed a chuckle.

"Say look. The circus is still here." Archie said as I sighed with a frown.

"No games right now." I said to him.

"I wanna see if they're doing better after the fire." Archie said as I stopped him.

"I'll go so you don't get distracted." I told him as I walked ahead of him and went to the game area.

"Hello? Mister ring master? How's the machine?" I asked as I looked in and gasped.

"I-it's you!" I shouted out as I saw the giant Trogg Archie and I tried to shoot. He was wearing a red cape and a red hat. I was freaking out now. How did he get out of the game and into the real world? He groaned when he looked at me and then turned to the machine.

*What is he pla-oh no. Don't tell me he's sending out an army from the game.* I thought as he pulled open a hatch.

"Oh no you don't!" I yelled out as I ran to stop him. He used his arm to slam me back. He looked at me, as I fell on the floor, and started to step towards me when Allegro ran in front of me, shielding me, and growled at the Trogg. The Trogg backed up a step and then dashed off. Archie and Jughead ran over to me to see nothing there but Allegro was facing where he ran off and was still growling.

"What happened?" Archie asked in a panic as Jughead helped me up.

"Good boy allegro. Good boy." I said in a light voice as Allegro looked at me and then licked my hand. I pet his head as I looked at Archie.

"Archie, that giant Trogg was here. He was doing something to the machine and I tried to stop him. If Allegro wasn't here then he would've hurt me." I said as I stretched and cracked my back.

"Well he's not here now. But how did he get out of the game?" Jughead asked after he confirmed the Trogg was gone.

"I think that short circuit before the explosion is how." I said as I sighed. We decided to head to Pop's, where I rewarded Allegro, my hero, with burgers and fries, as it turned to evening. Once then Archie, Allegro and I were now heading home.

"Archie, I'm a little worried. Jughead probably thinks I have a virtual screw loose." I told him as Archie pulled into the drive way.

"I doubt that. And besides, I'm here." Archie said while using the remote garage opener to open the garage and pull in.

"That's comforting." I mumbled sarcastically as he parked. Allegro then barked and growled.

"Who's there?" I yelled out as I looked over to where Allegro was looking. It was the ring master.

"Ring master?" I questioned as I hushed Allegro.

"You've seen him too huh?" He asked us as Archie looked at him.

"What?" Archie asked him.

"The big ugly one, the leader, you've seen him?" He asked Archie as he shook his head no.

"Only in the game." Archie said to him.

"I saw him by your computer. Is he trying to send out an army of Troggs? Also what's going on?" I asked him these questions.

"Yes, he most likely did already. Also, as to what's going on, I thought I had erased him from a level in the game but I guess I didn't." He said to us.

"So, in short, he shouldn't exist." I said as the ring master nodded his head.

"Yes, that's correct." He told us.

"Yeah, well now he does. And not just in the game." Archie said as he started getting mad.

"I think when the leader somehow made his code back into the computer it overrode the system and caused that explosion. Perhaps that explosion somehow made the code into reality and pulled him out." I said in conclusion to what happened.

"It happened when you two shot your friends many times, mainly your cousin there." The ring master said as we then felt ashamed.

"Other than that, you're correct on everything else." He also added in. Then he put a bag on top of the hood of Archie's car.

"When I tried to get the system rebooted I accidentally downloaded _these_ into reality." He said as he pulled out the blasters we had in the game.

"I get it! When you accidentally downloaded these into reality you brought him out as well. He saw you do this and took the chance and succeeded. Now he knows how to bring the other Troggs to reality!" I exclaimed as Archie and I took a blaster and held it.

"The only problem is I don't know what he's planning. You kids need to take these and find your friends." The ring master exclaimed as I took the bag in hand.

"But what about the missing arcade? Do you know-" Archie started before Allegro started growling and barking at the garage door. Next thing we knew a Trogg had ripped it open and started to make it's way in.

"Oh cheese! Time to go!" I exclaimed as I tossed the bag in the car.

"Make a run for it you two. I'll distract them." The ring master said before he started using karate and tai jutsu moves on the Trogg. Wow. Archie got me in the car before we drove through the busted garage door and out on the road.

"Is it just me, or did he become even cooler." I said with a very light blush. Granted, he was older but those moves.

"Crush on him and his moves later." Archie scolded me.

"I'm not crushing." I said quickly. Archie drove quickly and, just as the sun had set, we arrived at Pop Tate's. I pulled out the light weight armor as we dressed in them. We walked in and I saw the looks they gave us.

"Well if it isn't the master blasters themselves." Betty said as I rolled my eyes. Archie kept a serious face on as we went up to them.

"It's a little early for Halloween, don't ya think?" Reggie said as we didn't reply.

"I think the Super Gingers are getting a little obsessive with their favorite game." Betty said as they laughed. Jughead looked at me and saw my serious face.

"What's wrong?" Jughead asked me.

"What's wrong is the Troggs are attacking." I told him as the others laughed.

"They became reality when the ring master tried to fix his machine. The one Trogg Archie and I saw was the leader, a deleted part of the game, and now he's out and brought a small army to attack." I exclaimed.

"Ha. You've been around Archie and his articles too long Doll Face. Do you have a virtual screw loose?" Reggie commented as I got mad.

"This isn't a game anymore!" I screamed as I slammed my hands onto the table. Everyone jumped and saw I was dead serious. My one tell of me lying was I squeak my words when I lie. Bad tell but they saw I wasn't squeaking my words out.

"I believe you." Jughead finally said as Archie showed them the blasters. I then saw out the window at a building glowing green.

"Look!" I pointed out as they saw it too before it disappeared.

"What happened?" Betty suddenly asked.

"I don't know, but I think it's happening again." She said as we saw the glow. Soon the Chock'lit shoppe started shaking.

"Run for it!" I yelled out as we ran outside. Soon the shoppe was gone. Allegro came over to me and started whining.

"It's alright boy." I said as I comforted him. Then we saw the leader as Allegro growled at him.

"Let me guess. The Trogg leader!" Reggie said as the leader removed his hat and cape to reveal a blaster attached onto his arm as he towered over us.

"Well well well, if it isn't the spunky little humans Archie and Aria Andrews." The leader snide as he looked at me and Archie. Oh boy.

"How do you know who we are?" Archie asked him.

"Archie! You were bragging inside the game. We also kept yelling each other's names you dope!" I scolded him.

"Heh. She's correct. Everybody knows of the mighty Trogg slayers, The Super Gingers, the master flash blasters, King and Queen of the virtual world." He said in a taunting and slightly angered way as Archie and I felt both guilt and fear. I then got mad and marched straight up to him.

"Alright, leader of the Troggs, what did you do to our buildings? What's your plan?" I said in a mighty and brave voice while Allegro was next to me growling at him.

"They were scanned into the game. Thanks to your technology and efforts we've perfected the way of scanning and soon all of Riverdale will follow suit." He said while bending down to face me.

"We'll stop you!" I said in his face as he chuckled lightly.

"You think so hm?" He said as he stood up straight and backed up. He then touched a gem on his belt and made two Troggs appear.

"Did you think we would let you get away with destroying our kind? For invading our world? For constantly bragging? Well now we're getting revenge. We will soon hunt you down and constantly attack you in our game for our amusement." He said as he then made more Troggs appear and I was soon becoming surrounded.

"Quick, suit up!" Archie yelled as he then appeared next to me and started shooting them. I joined him 2 seconds later as we shot them together and made some of them disappear. The problem was the leader was producing more and more. Another problem was they were faster in the real world. As we all split up and attacked I saw one shoot Reggie and he vanished.

"Don't get shot! We'll be downloaded into the game if we do!" I warned them all. One snuck up behind me and grabbed me. My blaster fell from my hand as one showed up and went to blast me. Allegro bit the one holding me and forced him to let me go. I grabbed the blaster just as I saw Allegro get shot and vanish.

"You shot my dog! Now it's personal!" I screamed as I shot them both with ease. Now I was pissed. I ran, ducking, weaving, and blasting Troggs as I searched for the leader. I had a theory that if I destroyed his belt then everyone and every thing would come back and once they were blasted away they would stay gone or disappear all together. I saw Archie's car get thrown.

*Great! There goes his car again! Uncle Fred's gonna be mad!* I thought as I avoided another Trogg and blasted him. I managed to hide just in time to see Archie back up into the leader. I blasted some of the Troggs before my weapon was snatched and I was carried over to the leader.

"Let me go!" I shouted as I began struggling and moving my arms and legs around trying to hit them. I was soon let go and shoved next to my cousin.

"How many of my kind did you two slay for your own amusement? You two were too busy bragging to think about the losers in your game weren't you?" He asked us as he bent down to face us.

"Weren't you!" He suddenly shouted in our faces. We both felt guilt after that.

"Yes. Yes we were." I said in a soft voice.

"Not very sportsman like of you two." He said after he straightened up.

"No." I said as I shook my head.

"She's not guilty like I am though." Archie said as he tried to defend me.

"Archie. If I had bragged less when you lost then we wouldn't have bragged in the game, especially you. We wouldn't have tried to prove who was better. I'm just as guilty." I told him as he looked at my sorrow filled face. My problem was that I bragged because I was proud. I had no friends so I usually played games alone. I needed to learn about being a good winner and not brag as much. That's why I'm just as guilty.

"She admits to it without making you take all the blame." The leader commented as Archie sighed.

"Even so, We're both very sorry." Archie then apologized for the both of us as I nodded my head in agreement. Then our shoulders were grabbed as the leader looked at us.

"Oh really?" He questioned us.

"Yes we are." I said to him.

"Exactly. We've learned our lesson." Archie said, agreeing with me, as the leader looked at us.

"And are you sorry for being a jerk?" He asked, mostly to Archie, as I nodded my head.

"Yes. Yes I am." Archie told him.

"Me too." I chimed in just to be safe.

"Let me hear you say it." He told us as I understood what he meant.

"I'm sorry for being a jerk. I'll never do it again." Archie and I said at the same time as the leader then bent down to look at our faces.

"Promise?" He asked us. Why was he doing this? Would he let us go?

"Yes. I promise. I'll never brag or gloat again." Archie said to him.

"Neither will I. I promise!" I said in agreement as the leader smiled for a split second before he stood up and pointed his cannon thing at us.

"You two are right about that!" He exclaimed.

"I knew it!" I screamed angrily at him while Archie looked afraid.

"Hey ugly!" We heard as we turned to Archie's destroyed car and saw Betty right there.

"I'm back!~" She said to him. I used that distraction to kick his gem on his belt, breaking it all together.

"No!" He screamed.

"Betty now!" I shouted as she shot him.

"No!" He shouted out, lengthy, as he then disappeared. Once he did all the others did as well and all the buildings and people started to reappear. We ran over to her and I embraced her in a hug.

"Oh my goodies! Thank you Betty! Thank you thank you thank you! I owe you big time for this!" I told her as she laughed. We soon met up with the ring master, who explained that because we shot our friends it caused a power surge for them to escape and our bragging angered them greatly, and found out everything was back to normal and they wouldn't leave again. I was glad to have Allegro back as well. Archie, Betty and I started walking home when I thought of something.

"Hey Archie? How mad do you think Uncle Fred will be when Aunt Mary tells him about the garage door and your car?" I asked him as he stopped walking. He was turning white and sweating all over. Well we found out when we got home and told her. Grounded. Both of us. I only got two weeks, because Archie was driving and it's his car, and Archie got six weeks. Yikes. Aunt Mary said she'd make sure it was lightened up if we did extra chores and helped with the door. There goes a bit of my savings. Oh well. I'll earn it back. After receiving our punishment, and dinner, Aunt Mary allowed us to write our article before bed.

"If it hadn't been for Betty, we would've paid a high price for our stupid bragging. We won't be doing that again. ~Archie. That reminds me, I should bake her a thank you cake for this. Anyways the streets are, once again, safe and sound. ~Aria. ….In a little town called Riverdale! ~Archie and Aria."

The article was finished and we went to bed.


	33. Chapter 32

Chapter 32: Monster In The Night!

*Aria's POV*

It was another day in Riverdale, nearing the end of July, and it was a bright, warm, sunny day. I was working at the Chock'lit Shoppe and, let me tell ya, it's busy today. I have a date with Dilton but with how busy it is today I might have to work extra hours to help out meaning I'd have to reschedule. Either way it was super busy here. I skated over to a booth and started cleaning it.

"Aria!" I heard a young voice as I looked over and nearly fell over from the sudden hug.

"Wah!" I yelped out as I tossed the tray of plates and cups onto the table and barely caught myself as I looked down at Clarice, Collin's younger sister, as she hugged me tightly.

"Hi Clarice." I greeted her as I patted her head. I didn't know Pops saw this little event.

"I miss you! I don't get to see you much!" She told me as she then looked up at me with a wide smile.

"Clarice!" I heard Betty's voice before suddenly

"Aria!" I heard two more voices before ending up on the ground.

"Eek!" I screeched as I fell over. Luke and Duke had ran at us full force and knocked all of us over.

"Hi boys." I greeted as I looked at the ceiling.

"We miss you!" Luke shouted out.

"Yeah! You don't see us much anymore!" Duke pouted out loudly as I just laid there.

"Luke, Duke, Clarice! Aria's working right now so please don't bother her." I heard an all to familiar voice as the kids got off me.

"Thanks Betty." I groaned out as she helped me up.

"Let me finish cleaning up." I told her as I picked up the tray and re-cleaned the table before seating them.

"Drinks?" I asked as they told me what I wanted. I then skated off to drop the dishes off and give them they're drinks.

"I'll be back in 5." I said as I skated over to the other tables and cleaned them up, got refills, and managed to get back to them quickly.

"Alright. What would you like?" I asked as I took in a few deep breaths.

"Wow, this place is busy today." Clarice gasped out.

"Yeah." I muttered out. I got their orders and went over to Pops to let him know. Once they got their food the place calmed down a bit. I looked over at the clock and smiled.

"Pops, Jughead should be here shortly." I told him as he smiled at me.

"Those kids sure do love you, huh?" He asked me as I looked over at all three of the kids Betty was watching.

"Yeah." I said gently. I then looked at Pops.

"Hey Pops, can you get me three small sundaes? As my treat?" I asked him as he smiled.

"Sure thing." He told me as I then noticed Jughead walking outside. I greeted him at the door with a hug and sat him down.

"How are you Jughead?" I asked him.

"I'm fine. How's your day so far?" He asked me.

"Busy but good. Anyways I'll get your food. Milkshake?" I asked him as he nodded.

"Yes. A-"

"chocolate with extra whipped cream with a cherry and a vanilla with extra whipped cream and cherry for after the first round but before the second round and save the strawberry one with extra whipped cream and a cherry for after the food." I said, interrupting him, as I jotted it all down. I was met with silence so I looked up a him. He looked stunned.

"If your not careful, your face'll freeze." I joked as he just looked at me.

"Jughead, you come in here every day. I think I know your daily routine and what you tend to get every day by now." I told him as he shook his head.

"It's not that. It's just I never knew you actually _paid attention_ to what I order _every day!_ " He exasperated as I giggled.

"Your my boyfriend, I'm supposed to try and remember these things silly." I said with a smile.

"I'll be back in a few." I told him as I skated off. I gave Pops Jughead's order and took the sundaes over to the kids.

"Oh wow!" The three said in unison as they soon started digging in.

"Don't worry, it's on me." I told Betty as I gave her the bill and skated off. After cleaning, serving Jughead his food, Betty and the kids thanking me and all that I was tired. Jughead was almost done as I sat at the bar.

"Well I think you've earned your break." Pops told me with a smile as he handed me a drink.

"Thanks Pops. I'm just glad you didn't have to do this alone." I told him before I gulped down some of my drink. Pops went into the back as I relaxed a bit. That changed quickly.

"Hey babe." I heard as my good mood suddenly turned sour.

*No!~ Why!~ Why~ can't he just leave me alone!~* I thought to myself as I felt him put his arm around my shoulders.

"I didn't know you worked here. Maybe you can buy and serve me some food now." He told me as I took his arm off me and pushed him away.

"Go away. Leave me alone already!" I scolded him.

"You know better babe." He told me as I glared at him.

"I was having a good day until _you_ showed up. Do you not understand that, not only I hate you, but you make me sick?" I asked him as he scowled.

"Your mine so you should-" He started but I cut him off.

"No _you_ listen. I'm not yours, I'll never be yours, I hate you and that's saying a lot since I don't hate anyone, your sleazy, abusive, obnoxious, primeval, sickening, short tempered, thieving bully!" I said to him. He grabbed my wrist and my face as he pulled me a bit closer to him.

"You really need to learn when to shut up." He told me as he got close to my face.

"Hey! Let my girlfriend go!" Jughead shouted as he ripped Vinnie away from me.

"Watch it weirdo." Vinnie scolded him.

"Then stop harassing my girlfriend." Jughead said with anger in his voice. I don't usually see Jughead get angry so this was new to me in a way.

"Then she needs to serve me food." Vinnie suddenly said like it was the most obvious answer in the world.

"She's on break and you won't pay either way you freeloader." Jughead told him.

"Look who's talking!" Vinnie yelled at him.

"Well hey now, what's going on?" Pops suddenly asked as he appeared.

"You waitress won't serve me." Vinnie told him bluntly.

"He's harassing her and I don't like it!" Jughead scolded out as Vinnie glared at him.

"Well she's on break and if you are harassing her then I need you to stop or leave." Pops told him as he tried to resolve this peacefully. Problem was, with Vinnie Wells around, things wouldn't end peacefully. Usually. Lucky for me he went and sat down at a booth while Pops took his order.

"Thanks Jughead." I said with a smile as he came over to me to see if I was bruised.

"No problem." He said. Once he saw no bruises he kissed me on the cheek. My work day soon ended and Jughead waited for me.

"Hey there's an action monster movie playing tonight. Wanna go?" He asked me.

"Jughead, you know this is Dilton's night with me." I told him as he smiled and looked at me.

"Doesn't mean I can't try to woo you away from him." He told me as I lightly shook my head.

"Nice try Jughead. Archie will go with you though. He's been wanting to see it and Betty and Veronica won't go with him." I told him to comfort him.

"Alright. But he's not you." Jughead pouted as I giggled.

"I'm glad. I don't want you kissing him instead of me." I joked as we rounded a corner. He then pulled my close to him and kissed me on the lips.

"Mmm?" I muffled out in shock before I wrapped my arms lightly around his neck and kissed back. After a minute or two he pulled back.

"Like that?" He told me as I blushed furiously.

"Yeah." I muttered out. Man he's good. He was nice enough to walk me home and when I got there Archie walked outside.

"Hey, you're home." Archie said to me.

"Yeah, Jughead walked me home." I said as Jughead pulled me close to him.

"Vinnie started up again. I wasn't going to let her go home alone." Jughead pointed out while he held me protectively.

"Well glad you're back. Allegro's been waiting for you." Archie said as I awed. I kissed Jughead and said goodbye and than you as I went inside. As soon as I walked in I got jumped by Allegro and covered in kissed.

"Gah! Allegro! I love you too but down boy!" I said loudly as he then got off me. I was still in my uniform as I was now covered in dog hair.

"Guess I need to wash it now." I muttered as I looked at Allegro. He was laying down and looking up at me with big puppy eyes. Dang it how could I be mad?

"It's alright. Let's go boy." I said as he bounced right up and followed me upstairs. I got dressed and ran downstairs. Archie was getting his car back tomorrow morning. Why so soon? The auto shop was smart enough to realize Archie's car keeps getting wrecked so they kept all the parts in stock and quickly rebuilt it. I'd say lucky Archie except his allowance was cut. Normally he'd still be grounded but Uncle Fred lightened up this time. I paid for the garage door so my grounding was only two days. Lucky me. I counted my tips, $40, and put the half of it away and put the other half in my pocket. I quickly got in the shower before I got dressed in the outfit I first arrived in, called original, and did the usual make up, boots, gloves, purple earrings, and started to head downstairs.

"Allegro. Time for walkies! Where's your leash?" I talked to Allegro and asked him as he ran to grab his leash and met me at the end of the stairs.

"Good boy." I told him as I decided against skates today.

"You've been doing a good job with him." I heard Uncle Fred say as Allegro showed a smile to him.

"Yeah. He listens well to me." I said as I rubbed Allegro's head.

"Just be careful today alright." He told me as I nodded my head.

"Not a problem." I said with a smile as I then headed out the door. After our walk I brought Allegro home and left to go to Dilton's for our date. I made it to his house and rang the bell. I saw an older gentleman answer the door. To be honest, he looked like a mid 40's Dilton of sorts.

"May I help you?" He suddenly asked me.

"Hi. My name's Aria Andrews. Is Dilton home?" I introduced myself and then asked about Dilton.

"Oh? You're Aria?" He asked me curiously as I gently nodded my head.

"Yes sir." I said politely.

"So you _are_ dating my son?" He asked me seriously.

"Yes sir." I said as I started to get worried.

"And I've heard you're _also_ dating Jughead Jones. Is that true as well?" He asked me in a serious tone. Yup. I'm worried now. I swallowed hard as I decided I had enough and would try to brave out my explanation.

"It's true. It's just hard to choose between two wonderful guys. Both know of each other and accept this. I don't expect to choose until further down the road but, as long as Dilton cares for me as well as Jughead then, in the end I'll care for them no matter the outcome." I told him as I tried to swallow down my fear, doubt and worry. He was just looking at me sternly as I tried to stand my ground.

"Well he _has_ been happier since you first arrived in town." He confessed as he sighed in frustration.

"I'm just looking out for my son. Wouldn't your father be the same way?" He suddenly asked me as my eyes grew wide. My father would care less and would most likely let mom beat me black and blue. Heck, he might even join in. I lightly shook my head no.

"I wouldn't know. My uncle knows about this though. He trusts the three of us." I told him in honesty. He then looked at me skeptically.

"What do you mean 'you don't know'?" He asked me before Dilton showed up.

"Dad, it's fine. She's a nice person. She's not like most of the other girls at school, she doesn't use me for good grades." He explained to his father. His dad sighed and opened the door all the way.

"If you're sure." His dad said as Dilton smiled.

"I'll be back soon." Dilton told him as his dad lightly smiled. Dilton grabbed my hand and started to guide me away.

"It was nice to meet you Mr. Doiley." I said kindly with a small smile as I noticed he frowned again. Once we left I sighed and looked at Dilton.

"I don't think your dad likes me very much." I said as I looked down at the ground.

"He's a little old fashion. He also knows that the girls at school take advantage of me being smart. I talk highly of you a lot but when I mentioned the relationship he didn't like it much." Dilton confessed as I looked down. I was then pulled close to him as he kissed my cheek. I lightly eeped as I looked at him.

"Don't think that he sees you as a 'slut' or anything like that. I know you're kind and sweet. I know the real you and he'll see that soon enough." He told me, comforting me, as I smiled lightly.

"I'm sure you're right. Thanks." I told him as I kissed his cheek. We went off to the lab, where he surprised me with a secret romantic dinner but using the Bunsen burners instead of candles, as we talked about many things. He was talking about a few inventions he was stuck on and I offered to help. Somehow we ended up working on the projects until late at night.

"Oh shoot! My curfew! Oh Uncle Fred's gonna ground me again!" I shouted as Dilton shot up quickly.

"Then we need to get you home fast." He told me as we started heading down the way to our houses.

"Let's get you home 1st. I can defend myself." I told him. He was about to argue when I took him by the hand and ran down the road to his house. I dropped him off at his house and kissed his cheek and was soon on my way home. I then heard a car horn honk.

"Aria!" I heard Betty shout as I stopped and looked at her. She was driving her parent's car, probably done babysitting or running an errand for them, as she looked at me.

"You heading home?" She asked me.

"Yeah. Running late." I told her.

"Hop in. I'm heading home and we _are_ neighbors." She told me as I smiled brightly.

"Thanks Betty!" I said ecstatically as I hopped in the car quickly.

"So why are you running late?" She asked me as I blushed lightly and explained my date with Dilton.

"Aw.~ That's sweet." She commented as she pulled up to her driveway.

"Thanks again for the ride Betty." I thanked her again as she smiled at me.

"No problem." She told me as I jogged to the front door and got inside. As soon as I opened the door Allegro jumped on me.

"Ack!" I shrieked out as I fell and hit my head on the floor. Allegro was hopping all over the place, including on me, as he kept licking my face.

"Aria, you okay?" I heard Aunt Mary ask as she then saw me on the ground.

"I'm fine. Just hit my head is all." I said to her as I sat up, only to have Allegro sit on my lap and rub himself against me as he continued licking my face.

"I love you too, you clingy overactive baby." I said as he looked at me with those light blue puppy eyes.

"You need to teach him to stop jumping on you deary. You're going to get seriously hurt one of these days." She told me as I sighed.

"Allegro! Off!" I said sternly as he then scrunched up and crawled off me.

"Stop jumping. I'm not mad but jumping on me when I walk in needs to stop." I told him as he laid dawn and did the puppy eyes again.

"I guess that's his secret weapon." My aunt said as we chuckled a bit.

"Where's Archie?" I asked her.

"He's upstairs. He said something about being chased by a monster." She said as I then bolted up the stairs.

"Thanks Aunt Mary!" I shouted as I made it to Archie's room, with Allegro following me, and looked at Archie.

"Archie! You okay? Are you hurt? What happened? What kind of monster was it? Is Jughead hurt?" I asked these questions quickly as I then clung onto him and shook him repeatedly.

"Tell me tell me tell me!" I nearly shouted as Archie got dizzy.

"Alright alright! We're both fine! I won't be if you keep this up!" He shouted as I let go of him. He held his hand with one hand and, in fact, looked dizzy as I blushed lightly and got nervous.

"Sorry." I muttered out. Archie soon explained all of this to me as we decided to, after getting his car, tell the gang when we meet at Pop's tomorrow. I had to work a bit but they would meet around the end of my shift.

*Next day Aria's POV*

I was finishing up my shift as the gang, minus Veronica, sat there and chatted.

"I can't believe this! This should be page one news and it doesn't even get a lousy mention." I heard Archie yell out as I shook my head lightly and brought them their drinks.

"Well of course it won't get mentioned. People around here are getting tired of the weirdness. Plus, as far as I know, only you and Jughead saw the monster." I pointed out as Archie gave me a grumpy look.

"News flash! The world does _not_ revolve around Archie Andrews and his _over active_ imagination." Reggie teased while using his hands to make it look like he's looking at a camera screen.

"Reggie! Stop teasing him! I'm sure he didn't make this up." I told Reggie in a scolding manner.

"You only believe me because Jughead confirmed it." Archie pouted as I shrugged.

"Wouldn't matter either way. After all we've seen most things are believable if any of us saw them." I said as I skated off to get there food. Jughead already had his so I needed to get the gangs and Jughead's seconds. I came back to see Archie on the table.

"I'll prove I'm right about this monster, and everyone will know my name as 'The Boy Who Saved Riverdale'!" He nearly shouted in glory.

"Archibald Andrews!" I shouted as he shrunk and gulped. I skated over to him.

"First off Aunt Mary raised you not to stand on the table! Second you know better than that! Third I'm the one cleaning the tables so get down before Pops kicks you out! It's going to take me longer to clean the table now!" I shouted at him. Honestly, he knew better.

"Hehehe." He chuckled nervously as he slowly got down from the table. I just started at him while holding two trays of food. If I could I'd have my arms crossed.

"Sorry?" He said in a form of a question.

"Don't you say sorry in a form of a question." I said. I don't know why I went motherly of sorts but I kinda did. Reggie then started laughing.

"Boy did she make you look like a fool." Reggie said as he laughed.

"You shouldn't be talking. You're no better." I said as I put Jughead's new tray of food over his empty one, right in front of him, as I pulled out a cloth and cleaned the table quickly before setting the food down in front of them all.

"Thanks sweetie." Jughead suddenly said as I smiled at him.

"No problem." I said as I kissed his cheek and then skated off to finish my work. After another 30 minutes the bill was paid, I was off work, Reggie left, and now the four of us were on our way home to look through all the papers Archie had in the garage and look on the Internet for clues. Archie and I used our computers to search for legends while Betty and Jughead looked through the papers to see in anything could link to this beast or monster of whatever the boys saw.

"I really appreciate you helping us out Betty." Archie said to her. She didn't have to but she was.

"Anything for our local community crusader." She said.

"Thank Aria as well. She didn't have to do this with us and is." Jughead pointed out.

"It's okay. Unlike Archie, I don't really need nor deserve credit for it. It just peaked my interest. Also I'm gonna kick that monster's butt for scaring my boyfriend." I said, adding in the last part for my personal reason, as Jughead gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. I don't eep as much when it happens except when unexpected.

"Yes and thank you too Aria." Betty added in as Allegro came upstairs and laid down next to me. I scratched his ears while continuing my search.

"Any luck on the internet research you two?" Betty asked us. Archie sighed.

"No. There haven't been any useful monster information. No similar monster sightings, local legends, nothing." Archie said as he continued typing away.

"I haven't found much either. Ghouls aren't like what you two described, we're too far north for chupacabra, and you two would be **dead** if it was a windigo." I pointed out as I closed my laptop and sighed. Normally I'd say Archie imagined it but Jughead saw it too. He had no reason to lie to me about the creature. He'd tell me if Archie did this for attention or not, unless he didn't know either.

"Hey alright!" I heard Jughead say as I looked at him.

"Did you find something?" Archie asked.

"You bet." He said as he tore off a piece of the paper.

"A two for one game coupon for the local arcade! I know what we're doing for date night!" Jughead showed us the coupon before aiming the last sentence towards me. I awed. What? He might be saving money but at least he was taking me out. Also a change of pace from the movies. Archie sighed while going over to his bed.

"Aw forget it." He moped as he just stood in front of his bed.

"We didn't find any clues in the ally, And there appears to be no record of any other sightings." He said sadly as he turned and sat down on his bed, fists on cheeks, just looking disappointed. I felt bad but most monster cases usually ended like this.

"Unless that monster shows up again, we've got nothing." He said. Betty sat next to me and opened up the paper.

"Maybe not. Look." Betty said as Jughead and I looked at her and then the paper.

"New bottling company will boost up economy in Riverdale." Jughead read out. Huh?

"No below that, in the goofy news section. Local man, Louis Stevenson, kicked out of health club after making a scene, claiming to be a monster." Betty said as she put the paper down.

"Sounds like a crank." Jughead said as I thought about it.

"But it's the only lead we have. It's not uncommon for people to turn into monsters." I said as we remembered the werewolf incident and Veronica becoming large.

"She's right. I think Betty found us a hot lead." Archie said as I stretched. I put my laptop next to Archie's and looked at them.

"So what are we waiting for? Let's go!" I said in an enthusiastic way as we began to leave. Allegro licked my hand and I rubbed his head before we left to see Mr. Stevenson. We arrived and rang the doorbell. When he answered Archie explained why we were there and he immediately let us in to start interviewing him. All I could say was he was a total health nut.

"You can not believe how much it means to finally have someone believe me. Not just sit there and stare at me like I'm nuts." He said while jogging in place and lifting dumbbells. I was trying hard _not_ to look at him like he's nuts. He's like what 80? Why is he doing this to himself? Too much exercise and not enough food.

"Um, we can do this later when your work out is finished if you like?" I questioned him. I hope he doesn't do this all the time.

"Oh nonsense. I never finish working out." He said as he started to jog in circles. My jaw nearly dropped. Yup. He's nuts. He then stopped and put the dumbbells down and reached for a yellow bottle to drink.

"If you ask me, all is an exercise in health. Care for a bottle of Zoom?" He asked as he showed us the bottle.

"Zoom?" Betty asked as she voiced my thoughts.

"An energy drink. Helps keep you going." He told us simply.

"Not allowed too. I get insanely hyper when I drink coffee or energy drinks." I said simply.

"Uh no thanks. We're fine." Betty said as he put the bottle down.

"So back to the monster bit. Why do you think you're turning into a primal beast?" Archie asked him. I _was_ curious about that.

"I don't know. At first I had no memory, no control." He said as he walked over to us and sat in front of us before continuing.

"But now I'm starting to remember who I am when I become the monster. Last night I looked in the mirror and recognized the horror I had become." He said as I gasped in shock.

"I think it's a government conspiracy or even aliens performing experiments on me." He said as I tried not to laugh.

"I doubt it's aliens. Government maybe." I said as I held back more laughter.

"Aliens?" Jughead asked him.

"Oh yes. Since I'm in such great shape, I'd be the perfect specimen." He said proudly as I nearly lost it.

*Keep calm. Don't laugh.* I thought as I took a couple deep breaths. We asked a few more questions like if he had ran into two teens last night. He couldn't fully remember and our interview was over. We thanked him and left. Once in the car and drove off I busted out into laughter.

"Alien experiment? Bwahahaha. That's hilarious! Perfect specimen? I can't stop!" I shouted out and laughed super hard.

"Aria! That's not nice!" Betty scolded me.

"At least she held back when we were there." Archie said as I doubled over in a fit of laughter and pain.

"We'd have better luck at the mall." I said after calming down a bit.

"Great idea! We can go on our date!" Jughead said as I smiled. Archie sighed but agreed. Now at the mall we just walked inside. Archie was sulking while the four of us wondered around a bit to get to the arcade area. Archie sighed.

"So much for the boy who saved Riverdale. That monster is still out there and my hottest lead turns out to be a dead end." Archie said as he was filled with disappointment.

"No kidding. That guy was two nuts in one shell. A health nut and just a plain nutty nut." Jughead said as I started laughing.

"Not again! I'm gonna laugh to death." I said through small fits of laughter. "That's not nice." Betty scolded as I tried to stop.

"Can't help it." I said as I took in a huge gasp of air and finally calmed down.

"I wonder how I can make you laugh like that more often." Jughead said as I took a couple more deep breathes.

"It's not easy to make her go into a laughing fit like that." Archie commented.

"That's true." I agreed.

"Anyways Aria and I are gonna hit the arcade." Jughead said as he pulled me close to him.

"I've still got tickets from the last time and I plan on using them." I said as I held my bag close to me. In reality I never really leave without my bag. I don't like purses and it's my lucky bag.

"I'm going to sit down for a bit." Archie stated as Betty lightly huffed. I just shrugged and walked with Jughead to the arcade. When we went into the arcade we immediately started playing some games. I earned a few tickets and was getting closer to the prize I wanted. It was a big one so it cost a lot more. After that Jughead and I played a two player racing game. He was winning.

"Oh no you don't!" I said with a determined smile.

"Aw yeah!~ I'm winning! You can't pass me! You can't pass me! Yo can't pa-you passed me. You **passed** me?! How did you pass me?!" Jughead had been cheering and chanting until I found a speed boost and passed him. I lightly laughed as I gained another speed boost.

"Aw yeah!" I said as I got close to the finish line. So close!

"Jughead! Aria!" I heard Betty say. I ignored her.

"Hey! I'm playing a game here!" I heard Jughead say before he crashed. Right when I was about to win.

"Come on!" I heard Betty scold before I was yanked away and my car crashed.

"No!~ I was winning!~ Why!~" I whined as she dragged the both of us out of the arcade.

"Betty! This better be good!" I said in a huff. She turned us around and looked at us.

"Where's Archie?" She asked us.

"I don't know." Jughead said to her.

"He said he was going to sit down. Why?" I asked her. Suddenly a woman in a green skirt suit and brown hair in an up do ran past the arcade entrance in a hurry.

"Monster!~" She screamed in fright.

"Monster?" I questioned.

"The monster! We've gotta find Archie!" Jughead exclaimed as we started running the opposite way the people were going. We went to where Archie was sitting but he wasn't there. Jughead figured he was already following the monster so we decided to try and help anyway we could. We saw Archie's back go through the door leading to the emergency stairs as we soon followed. I bolted as fast as I could down the steps as I saw my cousin laying on the ground, unconscious.

"Archie!" I shrieked as I got to him and checked on him.

"Archie! Speak to me! Wake up!" I shouted loudly as Betty and Jughead made it to us. Archie then came to.

"What am I doing in the stairwell?" He mumbled lightly.

"Oh thank goodness, you had me worried." I said as I hugged min close to me.

"You got to be more careful Archie. You must've got knocked out while chasing the monster." Betty said to him. I pulled away from him and saw his shirt was ripped. I began checking him for injuries.

"I guess. Um, Aria, what are you doing?" He asked me.

"Your shirt's ripped. I'm seeing if you got hurt anywhere else. It doesn't look like it. That's good." I told him as I muttered the last two sentences. I helped him up when I noticed he had a bottle of Zoom on him. We decided to take him to the car. On the way out, as Jughead took over letting Archie lean on him, I took one of the free samples of Zoom. Could it have something to do with the monster? Maybe. Since it was still early and the paper was running late today that means the paper would be out later in the afternoon to evening. That also means the monster story would be out then. Maybe. Once we got to the car Archie insisted he was fine. I had thought about the monster, what the health nut said, and this Zoom stuff. He said he had no memory, like Archie just experienced, and he, too, had a bottle of Zoom like Archie did. Could there be a connection? Then why aren't more people affected. I had so many thoughts run through my head at that moment. We headed back to the house, after dropping Jughead at Pop's, as the three of us went inside. Aunt Mary and Uncle Fred weren't home right now so Betty decided to make sure Archie was fine. I had to see Dilton about this.

"I need to walk Allegro." I said suddenly as I grabbed my skates. Allegro heard me say that and grabbed his leash immediately. I smiled and rubbed his head.

"Good boy." I told him as I latched it on.

"I'll meet up with you two later." I yelled out as I ran out the door. I put my skates on and we were off quickly. I told Allegro to go to the school and we both headed there. He remembered where it was. On the way I decided to drink some Zoom so if it _did_ affect me then Dilton would see me transform and figure it out. We made it there as I took my skates off and ran into the building. Just as I thought. He's in the lab.

"Dilton!" I said loudly.

"Ah!" He shouted out in a fright.

"Aria?" He questioned me as I ran up to him.

"I need help." I told him as I explained everything. I felt a huge burst of energy. Dilton was testing as I was getting the jitters. I didn't transform but now I was hyper beyond all reason.

"Aria. Can you sit still for 5 minutes?" He asked me a bit annoyed.

"I'm sorry. It'sJustSoHardToSitStillWhenIFeelExcitedAndHyperAndSoMuchMore!" I said quickly as I started bouncing around. Literally. I know I was getting annoying but that's what happens when I drink energy drinks. I presume coffee would do the same thing, since it did once when I was smaller, and yet soda and a certain amount of sugar didn't.

"Why did you drink it if this was the result?" He asked me.

"Well IthoughtItWould, What's the word, morph me into TheMonsterSortToSpeak." I said as I was speaking quickly.

"MaybeIShouldGetThePaperQuickly." I said as I started to dash off.

"Stay Allegro!" I shouted as I darted off to the nearest metal news stand holder thing and found today's paper. I saw an article about two monsters. Wait two? The one at the mall and at the health club at the same time. So health nut _was_ one. Does that mean Archie could be another? The Zoom! Uh oh. I dashed back to the lab. I showed Dilton the paper and explained how both of them had the Zoom. He told me about the small mutated side affect that affects certain genes and how, even though Archie and I are cousins, it didn't affect me.

"But why exactly?" I asked him.

"Perhaps your female genetics cancel it out." Dilton told me as I looked at him. I was now calmed down from the rush.

"So, basically, because I'm a female the Zoom has an even more rare side affect than with males?" I asked to confirm.

"Yes, that's correct." He confirmed.

"Interesting." I mumbled out. I then thought about it.

"I have to find Archie! I have to warn him." I said as I hugged Dilton and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you so~ much! You're so smart!" I told him as he blushed.

"You are too for figuring this out." Dilton told me as I had a very light blush on my cheeks. I then let him go and put Allegro on his leash. We left and managed to run into Jughead and Betty. I told them about the Zoom and They told me about what happened.

"I hope he didn't sleep in the lion's den." I thought as I began to worry. We decided to get Archie's car, drop Jughead off at his house, and with Uncle Fred's permission I spent the night at Betty's. I didn't have to work in the morning so that was convenient. I brought Allegro home and grabbed my stuff before sleeping at Betty's.

*Morning Aria's POV*

Betty showed me how to drive as we went to the zoo to get Archie. We found the security guard and I explained that he was sleepwalking due to an energy drink that made him crash. They agreed not to press charges nor arrest him because no damage was done. The guard guided us to the Orangutan area. Oh good gravy.

"Archie!" I scolded lightly. He stirred but didn't wake up.

"Archie! Wake up!" I scolded again.

"Leave me alone Aria. I'm tired." Archie mumbled.

"Archie! Wake up now. You're in the Orangutan cage at the zoo!" I scolded as he woke up and saw he was, indeed, with the Orangutans.

"Huh? What? How did I get in here?" He asked, more to himself then to us, as he looked around. After we safely got him out I thanked the guard again for not having Archie arrested or anything like that. We got to his car, picked up Jughead, and headed over to see Dilton. I told him it would all be explained when we got there. When we arrived Dilton smiled up at me.

"Salutations Aria. Everyone." He greeted as I gave him a hug.

"Alright so what is so important that you had Dilton meet us here?" Archie asked me.

"It's about the monsters." I stated simply.

"Really?" He asked me as I nodded.

"It's a good thing she came over here yesterday. I spent last night testing her bottle of Zoom." Dilton told him. "Her Zoom?" Archie questioned. "You dropped yours last night when you went monster man on us It was empty though." Jughead told him.

"Aria saw you have it when we left the mall and grabbed an extra bottle on the way out. She figured out, before we saw you transform, that both you and Mr. Stevenson had a bottle of Zoom on you when this happened and thought of a very small connection." Betty said as I smiled.

"Really?" Archie asked in wonder.

"You forget how smart she can be. This Zoom stuff is dynamite. It's designed to excite the adrenaline glands to produce extra energy in the consumer. Something Aria demonstrated last night." Dilton said as I blushed.

"Aria! You _know_ you're banned from energy drinks and coffee!" Archie scolded me.

"Don't blame her. She figured that since you two shared the same DNA of sorts that if she morphed she would have proof and a witness. It didn't work. There's a freak isotope split on the matrix that can actually activate a primal mutation code in the subjects DNA." Dilton explained.

"It's what made Archie and health nut go monster. It's a rare effect that only happens to 1 in 10,000 because of it's uniqueness. Also found out males are more prone to it than females are so only 1 in 60,000 would be females that are affected. Never the less it's only temporary, as proven, so we now need to figure out a plan to get this stuff off the market before more people transform. Either that or see if the company can improve it so it doesn't happen at all." I explained as I then pointed out a couple ideas on what needed to be done.

"Here! There's a number for the customer service area." Betty pointed out as she then pulled a large cell phone out of her purse and handed it to him.

"They're going to think it's some kind of crank call." Jughead said to us.

"If they don't keep us on hold for hours." I pointed out. Archie moved away from us to talk but soon came back.

"I don't believe it! They thought it was some kind of crank call!" Archie said in disbelief. We then decided to go see health nut to tell him why he's been morphing. I was starting to leave but then stopped. I had a small flashback.

 _*Flashback*_

 _"_ _The reason why I want to win the Nobel prize is to become rich. Then maybe people would visit me more often. I mean I know you do and that's nice but I mean others."_

 _"Well. It's back to the lab."_

 _*End Flashback*_

I remember Dilton saying these things when we got turned into ghosts. All Dilton wanted was to be noticed instead of just being used.

*Maybe they can do this without me for a couple hours.* I thought.

"Hey Archie. I'll catch up with you later." I told him nicely.

"Huh? Your not coming?" He asked me. I went over to him.

"I don't want to feel like I'm using Dilton. After all everyone usually sees him when they need something. I don't want to do that." I whispered in his ear as he smiled.

"Alright." He said as Jughead came over and kissed my cheek goodbye. I looked over at Dilton to see he wasn't paying to us and only his beakers and other things. I snuck over and wrapped my arms around his shoulders from behind before kissing his cheek.

"Huh?" Dilton questioned in shock.

"How about we go to Pop's for a burger? Just the two of us?" I asked him as he seemed shock.

"But the mystery-"

"Can wait. Archie and the others have it covered. Besides, I don't want to leave you alone nor feel like I'm like everyone else. I only find you when I need you and then just leave." I interrupted him as he smiled.

"So? My treat? After all you did help out a lot." I said with a smile.

"Sure. Sounds nice." He told me as I let him go only to hold his hand as we walked out of the school and over to Pop's. I know I had a mystery to help solve but it could wait. Archie can handle it. Besides, this is a big company so they might've paid the health nut off and, maybe, fix the formula they used. Who knows. We arrived at the Chock'lit Shoppe and Pops seated us.

"Are you sure you shouldn't help them?" Dilton asked me as I shook my head.

"No. There's not much we can do actually. Besides, Archie's a big boy, he can figure this out. Also I'd like to spend a little time with you today." I told him as we smiled. We enjoyed a few burgers and fries than, once finished eating, we walked around for a while. I walked him home and saw his dad was outside washing the car.

"Um, Dilton. I don't think it's a good ide-ah!" I started saying before Dilton pulled me close to him in a hug.

"Don't worry about him." He told me as I looked him in the eyes.

"Only focus on me." He told me right before he lightly kissed me on the lips. I blushed before closing my eyes and kissed him back. After a minute we parted.

"The sun's going down." I told him.

"You should get home before then." He told me as I looked at him.

"I need you to let me go first." I said to him.

"Oh! Sorry!" He told me while letting me go and fumbling a bit. I giggled as he rubbed the back of his head.

"I'll see you later." I told him as I walked of with a wave. He waved back before going up to his house. It took a while but when I got home I noticed Archie was home but another car was here. It wasn't familiar to me. I cautiously enter the house as I heard a crash and scream. Next thing I knew I saw a monster in front of me. I froze in fear as it glared at me. I noticed he had orange hair and was in Archie's clothes.

"A-Archie-e?" I stuttered out before he nodded and then ran past me to who knows where. I then saw a man running down. He looked at me and I glared at him.

"Where's he going? Who are you?" I asked him.

"I have to stop him before he ruins the chance for many people." He said as he started towards the car.

"You own Zoom Co. Do you realize what you did?" I yelled at him.

"We fixed the problem. I swear it. We took back and destroyed the old ones. We modified it so nothing like that would happen." He said as he then drove off. I tried to stop him but couldn't. I ran to Betty's house and knocked quickly.

"Aria? What's wrong?" She asked me.

"We gotta get to the Zoom factory. Call Jughead. I'll start the car." I told her as she did as she was told. I got the keys and started Archie's car right up. Betty than hopped in the car and off we were. I wasn't good at driving but we had to hurry. We got Jughead and than went off to the factory. I parked the car and we got out. We found Archie by the dumpsters.

"Archie!" I shouted out as he saw us.

"I drove us here as fast as I could. The guy said he fixed the problem." I explained just as the guy called out his name and ran over to us.

"Not you again." Archie said to him.

"Let me buy the bottle, please." He said to Archie.

"Archie listen to what he says. If he really _did_ fix the problem than that's a good thing." I told him.

"How do we know he's telling the truth though?" Archie asked skeptically.

"We did fix the problem. All previous batches no longer exist. Do you _really_ want to tell them? If you do the bad press will assure Zoom Co. will close, taking hundreds of Riverdale jobs with it." He said as I looked at the press and frowned. Hundreds?

"Archie. If you drink that in front of them then you prove the monsters exist but people who desperately need jobs won't get them. It might also mean Riverdale could plunge into bankruptcy or worse." I commented as Archie thought about it. Archie soon had the cameras and lights in front of him and myself.

"We're here with some of the locals, as guests, here tonight. Excuse me young man, what do you think of Zoom Co. and there energy drink Zoom?" A reporter asked Archie.. Archie smiled

"It's not what I expected at all." He replied as I saw him dump the last bit of the drink behind his back.

"And you young lady?" He suddenly asked me.

"I think this company will help many who need jobs. As for the drink, well, it changes things." I said with a smile.

"And there you have it. It looks like this factory is off to a great start." The reporter said before he scurried off. Archie and I looked at each other before we chuckled.

"Well it seems my job here is done." The head guy said. I grabbed his sleeve just as he started walking away.

"Blabadada. No you don't! This wasn't free." I told him as he sighed and looked at me.

"Aria!" Archie started but I stopped him.

"That check you wrote Mr. Stevenson, We want double that." I told him as he went wide eyed at me.

"What?" He asked me.

"Double the check you gave him, than donate it to the community health center in case this happens again. And a side check to replace anything broken in the house of course." I told him. He was gawking before he straightened up.

"Very well. A price worth paying." He said as he then lightly smiled. What? I might need money but I'm not _desperate._ Better it be put to something well needed. The community health center really needed help anyways. After writing the checks he gave me one and then went on to the reporters. We went home and I put the check in an envelope to send to the community health center. After I did that we started the article.

"And that was the end of the monsters. ~Archie. I am so proud of Archie. He finally had a chance to be famous for cracking a weird mystery and didn't. Not publicly anyways. ~Aria. It's true. Only then did I realize it was more important to save Riverdale than to be famous for saving Riverdale. I guess sometimes you have to sacrifice your dreams, for the greater good. Although I'm not the only one who made a sacrifice that day. ~Archie. That's right. I made Fiske, the company owner, write an even bigger check, double actually, than he made out to Stevenson. A check, which I had just mailed out before writing this, that's going towards the community health center so they can help those without who are in desperate need of help for free. Also made him write another check to replace the broken property. ~Aria. Now we're living monster free. ~Archie. …..In a little town called Riverdale! ~Archie & Aria!"

We finished writing the article just in tome too.

"Archibald Andrews! Aria Andrews!" Uncle Fred yelled out. Oh boy. We went downstairs to see him looking upset. I pulled out the check and handed it to him.

"For the damage. This company came by and a drink made Archie a monster and, well, I got him to give us a check for it." I explained awkwardly. Uncle Fred just looked at us before he sighed.

"Normally I wouldn't believe this. But after some of the things I've seen and heard." He said as he sighed. I too it as a free to go so I went to my room with Allegro and went to bed.


	34. Chapter 33

Chapter 33: The Haunting Of Riverdale!

*Aria's POV*

It was about after school, which had started and it's been about 2 months after our last real mystery, and Archie had done another 'Weird Mystery' without me, because I refused to do a story as stupid as that, as I had decided to meet up with him and Jughead. Archie was going to be picked on by Reggie, I pointed that out when others laughed about it, and told me to meet him by his locker. I swear if he hid in his locker. Oh gumdrops he did. I got there just to see Jughead get pulled back by Reggie as he unlocked Archie's locker and out went Archie, right into Reggie, and let the humiliation begin just as I show up.

"Hey there Reggie. What's new?" Archie asked as I smacked my forehead.

"Here we go." I muttered next to Jughead. I love my cousin. I really do. But this was one of those times I wish I wasn't here.

"A little constructive criticism Arch. And glad your here for this too, Doll Face. This week's 'Archie's and Aria's Weird Mysteries' column _has_ to be the _lamest_ one _yet!_ 'Always picking the slowest grocery store check out line. Just plain bad luck? Or government time experiment?'" Reggie read to us. That was why.

"That's a pretty 'Weird Mystery' if you ask me." Archie started with Jughead nodding behind him. I was now rubbing the part of my nose between the eyes as I tried to wish myself away.

"No matter how fast the line moves, it slows to a crawl. An eerie force, literally, slows time down." Archie said in a spooky voice. Nope. I was still here.

"It was bad enough when you were writing about werewolves and aliens and evil robots. But that's just pathetic." Reggie said as he shoved the paper in Archie's hand.

"Reggie you were there for that stuff though." I explained to him.

"That, as unbelievably ridiculous as those were, maybe true but _that_ is a bad article for _both_ of you." He stated.

"Hey! I sat that one out. Even I felt it was far fetched!" I said eccentrically to him.

"See Arch? Even _she_ sat it out. That just shows how desperate you are for a mystery." He said as he then walked away. Ouch! Harsh.

"It's a good thing Reggie's your friend, otherwise he might not give you such constructive criticism." Jughead said as I lightly giggled.

"Oh Reggie's right. My column's boring." Archie said as the three of us started walking.

"It's not your fault Archie. It's been normal in Riverdale for almost 2 months now, which that within itself is weird, but at least your trying." I said as I tried to cheer him up.

"Maybe you could switch to a recipe column instead?" Jughead questioned him.

"Actually I'm trying to do that." I told Jughead with a shrug.

"No! Don't do that! Then your food and sweets wouldn't be special anymore!" Jughead nearly shouted as I laughed.

"Not _my_ secret recipes silly, just some in general. Mainly tips, quick fixes, what's good for dates, stuff like that." I told him as he let out a breath of relief.

"That's good to know." Jughead said as he smiled.

"Back to me please." Archie said as we looked at him.

"Relax Archie, you'll get a mystery. As long as we don't get a short burst like last time then we should be fine." I told him as he sighed.

"I hope you're right, Otherwise next week's column is going to be just as boring." He said as he started to mope. We got to the car and headed to the Chock'lit Shoppe. Jughead was hungry, no surprise there, Archie was meeting the girls, no surprise either, and I needed to work, no surprise there either. I was working Tuesdays, Wednesday, and Thursdays after school from 4pm until 8pm, place closed at 9pm and closed on weekends at 10pm, and it still left me time to get homework and chores done along with spending time with people. We got there and I pulled my uniform out of the trunk and went inside. After going into the bathroom to change I punched in and got to work. Archie had left some time ago with the girls, Reggie had came in and flirted with me, BE greeted me and I chatted with her when I served her food, Greeted Moose and Midge on one of their dates, and I was soon off of work. Jughead waited for me by the door and I smiled at him. He insisted on walking me home and I let him. We talked, laughed, and soon reached home. We kissed goodnight and parted ways. I let Allegro out, had dinner, showered, did whatever homework I didn't do in school during my free time and then went to bed.

*Next Day Aria's POV*

I was a little tired. I kept having nightmares again. This was getting old. Archie and I were roaming the now empty halls on our way to my locker before our next class. No rush really. Archie, Jughead and I had free time and we were going to meet him outside anyways.

"The deadline for the next column is Friday. It's Wednesday Archie. Please tell me you have a good story." I told him as a reminded him of his deadline.

"No. Nothing. I can't find even a _mildly_ odd story, let alone a weird one." Archie said as I sighed.

"Hopefully something happens soon." I said just as we saw Principle Weatherbee walking with, Wait. Reggie? He was in a tee shirt and underwear, an image to give me more nightmares, and his hair was….White? What? I grew worried as I went over to them, Archie followed close behind.

"What happened? What's wrong with him?" I asked Principle Weatherbee in shock. The only reason why someone's hair would be white would be through age, not likely, hair dye, not likely as well, or fear. Did something scare him this badly?

"Poor Reggie's in a state of shock Aria. The school nurse says after a couple days of rest he should be fine. He was trying to leave so I'm bringing him back to the nurse right now to rest until someone gets him." He explained as I grew worried. Archie then grabbed Reggie's shoulders.

"Reggie it's me, Archie. Speak to me." Archie said a bit loudly.

"Sh. We have to be quiet." Reggie said as he put his finger to his lips before putting it back down. Why did we have to be quiet.

"All those years we made fun of her behind her back. Now she's come back for revenge." Reggie said as Archie and I grew shocked.

"Who Reggie?" I asked him.

"You won't know her. Quiet Violet. She's coming. You better watch out Archie. Keep this safe for me?" Reggie explained and then warned Archie before handing him something. A piece of paper.

"Uh, good idea Reggie. Wouldn't want your overdue library book notice to get in the wrong hands." Archie said as I shuddered. The Riverdale library _still_ felt weird to me. I wasn't sure why.

"Reggie must've experienced something really frightful to make him look and act this way." I voiced my thoughts aloud.

"I think you're right miss Andrews. I first found him wondering around the gym." Principle Weatherbee said.

"Weird." Archie replied lightly.

"The radio news says there's been 11 other cases just like this in Riverdale since last night. A real mystery." Principle Weatherbee said.

"A really weird mystery." Archie replied. I told him he might get one. I then thought about it.

"Principle Weatherbee, May I stay with Reggie until someone gets him?" I asked him as I grew worried. Reggie might me a pain and annoying but he was still my friend, sort of.

"I don't see why not. A friend by his side might help him through this." He replied to my question.

"Also may I have the radio turned on? I'd like to get the name of those 11 other people." I asked and explained as he nodded.

"Sure." He replied simply.

"Don't worry Reggie, We'll get to the bottom of this." Archie said as he then bolted.

"What a strange young man." Principle Weatherbee said in a confused tone.

"Quiet Violet will get him too if he's not careful." Reggie said in an eerie tone as I shuddered.

"Principle Weatherbee, is school being let out early because of this?" I asked him.

"At first I wasn't going to but, after seeing poor Reggie like this, I think it would be wise." He said as I nodded. I helped take Reggie to the nurses office to rest. Principle Weatherbee brought me the small radio and turned it onto the news for me. I thanked him as I sat by Reggie's side as he laid in bed. I heard the announcements come on saying school was being released and I sighed. The end of September and this is what's happening. I was listening to the names of the victims, Reggie Mantle now added on the list, before I heard a familiar name. Pop Tate. No. I had to wait before seeing him. I had calmed Reggie down as I stared at him.

"What can I do to help? Who is Quiet Violet?" I asked him. He was just staring at the ceiling.

"Reggie, please. You're my friend. Tell me who Quiet Violet is." I said to him.

"She'll get you too though. I don't want her to get you." Reggie suddenly said as I blinked in shock. I then heard the nurse talking with someone. I looked over my shoulder and saw Oliver, his older brother, as he came over to us.

"Man, he looks terrible." He commented towards me.

"He was found in the gym." I said to him.

"That's why he never came home last night." He commented as I grew shocked.

"Reggie. Your brother's here. Let's get you to his car." I commented as he looked at me and nodded. Oliver and I helped him up and brought him to the car. Oliver opened the back seat door as I walked Reggie over. I tried to get him in the car but he just clung onto me and wouldn't let go.

"Reggie, you need to let go. I need to check on Pops." I told him as he held on tighter.

"Don't go. She'll get you too." Reggie muttered out. He was so vulnerable and like a child at this point. I then had an idea.

"You should go with your brother to rest. I'm sure your niece is worried." I said to him. After a short bit he let go of me.

"You're right." He muttered out quietly as I then got him in the car.

"Thank you for being there for him." I heard his brother tell me.

"Just make sure he rests." I told him as he got in the car and drove off. Once out of site I went back into the school to grab my bag and skates and skated to the hospital. I got there and asked for Pop Tate. I explained I was an employee and a friend and they led me into the back to see him. His hair was white as well. He looked so afraid and vulnerable.

"Pops?" I called his name lightly. He looked up at me. Man he looked awful.

"Hey." I said as I walked over to him.

"Aria?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah. It's me. I came to check on you." I said as I sat in a chair next to his bed.

"What happened? Who or what scared you this badly?" I asked him quietly.

"Quiet Violet." He said to me. There was that name again.

"Who's Quiet Violet?" I asked him as he shook his head. I then saw a piece of paper in his hands.

"Pops? What is that?" I asked him quietly. He started shaking.

"May I please see it? I'll give it back." I told him. I waited a little bit before he handed it to me. I looked it over. An overdue notice for a library book.

*Just like Reggie.* I thought as I gave it back to him. He clung onto it as if his life depended on it.

"Pops, is Quiet Violet a librarian?" I asked him. He nodded yes. What was so scary about that. Unless.

"Is she deceased?" I asked him.

"She's not supposed to be around anymore, yet she came and gave me this. She's not, It's just, I don't." I muttered before he laid down in a fetal position.

"It's alright Pops. Archie and I will solve this. Is there anything I can do in the meantime?" I asked him quietly as I calmed him down.

"Don't anger her." He told me as I nodded.

"I won't." I told him as I then left. I had to find Archie.

*He said she was not supposed to be around anymore. That means she died. She's a ghost. A librarian. Why stay? Is her spirit attached to a book or the library itself? Maybe something unfinished? But then why is she turning bad? Being a spirit to long?* I had so many thoughts as I decided to head to the Riverdale Library to investigate who Quiet Violet was. It had taken me a long while but I finally got there. I saw a bunch of people leaving the library as I grew curious.

"Excuse me. What's going on?" I asked someone as they looked at me.

"The library's haunted, that's what's going on." They said before leaving. Uh oh. I darted inside and found Archie with Betty and a woman in her 20's, the new librarian no doubt, as I ran over to them.

"Archie! Pops had a notice as well. Is it the ghost of a librarian nicknamed Quiet Violet?" I asked him.

"Yeah. She just left inside the painting." He said as I turned and saw a picture of a kind elderly lady with the sweetest smile. I could see she was a nice person.

"She looks sweet though." I said to him.

"She was." Betty said as I thought about it.

"She must've been a ghost for so long that she doesn't see the harm she's doing nor know how bad her anger can get." I said as I voiced my theory. Archie took the time to explain to me what had happened and I was shocked.

"Aw!~ I missed the good stuff." I pouted as he sighed and shook his head.

"I'll let you handle the next one." He told me as I shrugged. We then decided to leave, after Archie and Betty checked out paranormal books because I refused to get a library card until all of this was over, and drive home, park in the garage and start reading. We needed to find a way to get rid of the spirit without destroying the library or me guiding her to the light like I did with Leviathan. I tried to tell him that I might be able to but he said it was too dangerous and that Dr. Beaumont said it might hurt me or worse next time, so we read.

"Maybe sage?" Betty said as I shook my head.

"If she's been there for a long while then sage wouldn't do any good. It'd be like trying to distract a werewolf with a chew toy." I commented as I set down a book and picked up another. This was dumb.

"Archie, none of these books are useful. Most are actually outdated. The only other thing I can think of is talk to the ghost, find out if she has any unfinished business that might be holding her here and, if so, try to help her finish the deed so she could cross over." I told him as he sighed.

"I think you might be right on this one." Archie confessed as I turned and gave him a look.

"No duh!" I said to match my look.

"I just can't believe that Miss Stanhope's ghost really means to scare all these people." Betty suddenly commented.

"It's most likely not her fault, I mean, remember Leviathan? It's possible she, like him not wanting to be alone, doesn't want to leave the library alone." I commented just as Jughead walked in.

"Hey guys? What's up?" Jughead asked us as I got up and hugged him.

"Usual research for a weird mystery. Turns out the ghost is a librarian named Violet Stanhope, Aka, Quiet Violet." I said as Jughead gasped. Before I could process anything Jughead had me looking at him as he started shaking me back and forth.

"Are you insane?! Forget this mystery! Don't go against Quiet Violet!" He said as he stopped shaking me. I was seeing stars at this point. Oh look a blue bird. And another. Maybe I'm seeing birds as well.

"Don't do that again. I'm seeing stars and birds." I said as I tried to recover before I found my face in Jughead's chest. Man did it feel firm and slightly muscular. I could smell the burgers from the Chock'lit Shoppe as I then thought of Pops. Him, Reggie and 10 others needed our help to stop this from happening to others.

"Calm down Jughead. What's gotten into you?" Archie asked in a worried tone.

"Jughead, we need to help before others become like Pops and Reggie." I said as I pulled away from him and held my head.

"Just promise me you won't go back to that-that-that library!" Jughead said as he grabbed me. He was filled with fear.

"Jughead. Are you afraid of Quiet Violet?" I asked him as he nodded.

"What did she do? Why be afraid?" I asked him.

"What do you have against the library Jughead?" Betty asked as Jughead then held me close.

"Eep!" I squeaked out as he held me close to him like a teddy bear. Geez he _must_ be scared if he's getting like _this_.

"I've never told anyone this story before but, for my girlfriend, I'll tell." Jughead started off as I blushed a deep read color. He'd tell for me?

"I was only six years old. It was my first, and last, visit to the library." Jughead started to tell as I pictured a cute little version of him roaming the library. I bet he looked adorable.

"It was fun at first, so many different things to see." He explained as I pictured him playing with a globe.

"Then _she_ came by and started to ruin it." He added as I imagined her stopping him from playing with it and telling him it wasn't a toy.

"There was this _really_ interesting book but Quiet Violet wouldn't let me enjoy it." He said as I pictured him reading a book that she took away from him. She might've told him to go to the children's section after that.

"Even that couldn't spoil it for me." He added in as I pictured him trudging along looking upset.

"Later there was an even _better_ book in the children's section. It was so funny, I couldn't stop myself from laughing." He continued as I imagined him there and getting all excited over the fun looking area and getting a bright colored book to read and laughing from it. Oh my goodies I bet he looked super adorable!

"But Quiet Violet wouldn't let me enjoy the book." He suddenly said as I then thought of her taking, or trying to take, the book away from him while saying something along the lines of 'Be quiet.' and 'No laughing in the library.' to him. I could picture his little face growing sad and tearing up. Poor guy.

"I felt as low as a little boy could. I decided to leave the library before I started crying. But she wasn't done with me yet." He said as I imagined him running to the entrance of the library, probably with the book, and the possibility of Quiet Violet chasing him. Jughead shuttered and let me go.

"I never went back to the library after that." Jughead said as he looked disappointed.

"That's nothing like Violet Stanhope at all. She loved children, she helped me get my first library card." Betty explained as she got out of the car and went up to Jughead.

"Betty might be right, I mean, most librarians love kids. They encourage them to read more and help them grow." I said as I remembered the librarian back in NYC. She was older but kind and sweet. She died two years ago but I still remember her.

"Then why haven't you gotten a library card? Why have us get books?" Betty suddenly asked.

"Because that library felt off and I was right. I said it once, and I'll say it again. I will not get a library card until this mystery is solved and Quiet Violet is put to rest." I said as I crossed my arms.

"All I know is that, if she was that bad in real life, than she must be 10x worse as a ghost." Jughead said as he crossed his arms and turned around to look away from Betty.

"I can't understand why she would still be haunting the place." Betty said as I sighed. Before I could say anything Archie beat me to it.

"Here's something. It says 'A ghost will sometimes haunt a place it it has unfinished business.'" Archie said.

"That's _exactly_ what I said Archie!" I said in annoyance. I then thought about something.

"I'll take you home Jughead. This is getting stupid and I'm done repeating myself." I said as I took Jughead's hand and got him to left. Once we got further away I turned and looked at him.

"Did you take that book from the library when you were younger?" I asked him as he thought about it.

"Yeah, I did. I didn't mean to though." He said as I sighed.

"Do you still have it?" I asked him as he went wide eyed.

"Yeah. Yeah I still do." He said as I looked right at him.

"You need to give it back. Maybe that's why she's haunting the place. You can do it tonight but you need to. It has to be you since you took it." I explained as he sighed and got worried.

"I can meet you somewhere near there. If she chases you I can bring salt to make her go away." I assured him.

"But what about aunt and uncle?" He asked as I smiled.

"I'll make up something." I said as I comforted him.

"Alright. Let's do it at 9 though. It's going to rain tonight so no one will be around. Plus the library will be closed then." He said as I smiled and nodded. I hugged him and headed back home to be ready. That night I threw on a black coat over my outfit and put on the hood and left. I was a few blocks away from the library when I heard screaming. I ran with the salt and ran to the screaming. I saw Jughead running my way with a ghost chasing him.

"Ah!~ Keep away!" He yelled as I went right at them and threw a handful of salt at her. She screamed before she vanished. I grabbed Jughead's hand and ran for it.

"Where are we going?" He yelled out as I turned down an ally.

"Home!" I yelled out before ending the short cut. After a while we made it back home as I ran inside and slammed the door shut before locking it.

"Aria?!" Archie yelled out as he ran down the stairs. He saw Jughead and me covered in water and panting.

"Quiet Violet! Not at rest! She chased us!" I panted out. Archie let Jughead sleep on the couch as we went to bed. We'd figure it all out tomorrow.

*Next day Aria's POV*

School was closed today. There were more attacks on a few students. Only 3 this time but still enough. The four of us were heading to the library, well we were until Jughead figured it out. Now he was hiding in a trashcan while we were trying to coax him out.

"You two go on ahead. Jughead? Can you come out? I won't take you to the library." I said as he popped opened the lid a bit and looked at me.

"Promise?" He asked me.

"I promise I won't take you right now. We might have to later but right now I need to show you something." I said in a stern voice. Jughead sighed.

"When they leave." He said to us.

"We'll catch up later." I said as they nodded and left. Once they left Jughead popped up and looked around before climbing out. I then guided him to the hospital.

"Why are we here?" He asked me.

"Just come on." I said as I asked a doctor if he was still in his room. When he said yes I pulled Jughead to the room I needed. There we saw Pops. He was dressed and seemed ready to go home but he still looked distorted.

"Pops?" I asked gently as he turned and looked at us. His hair was still a little white but he was looking better. Jughead gasped when he saw this.

"Well hey there you two." Pops said with a gentle smile.

"Feeling better?" I asked in a quiet voice just to be safe.

"Yes, still can't handle loud noises though. But don't you two worry, I'll have the Chock'lit Shoppe running soon." He said with a light smile.

"Take the time to rest though." I said as he smiled and patted our arms before we left.

"Pops was one of the first 12 that were attacked along with Reggie. Last night, after saving you, 3 more students were attacked as well." I explained as we left the hospital and headed near the library.

"I still don't want to go back there." He said as I looked at him.

"You'd rather be a coward than help those, like Pops, and future others?" I asked him as he stopped and looked at me.

"No, but-" He started before I interrupted him.

"I know you're afraid, I get that, but fear can not hold us back forever. Sometimes we must face our fears in order to do what we feel is right in the world." I told him as he looked me dead in the eyes. He knew I was right. He knew I had been afraid many times, and yet, I still did the right thing countless times. Just then Archie and Betty showed up to try and convince him to show up to the library tonight.

"I don't think I can. If Aria wasn't there than that ghost would've chased me down for half the night." He said as I rolled my eyes.

"Jughead, you do this and I'll buy you burgers from Pop Tate's for a month." I said as he looked at me.

"Will you serve them to me?" He asked me.

"When I'm working yes." I said as he then swooped me in a spinning hug before putting me down and looking courageous.

"What time do you need me here tonight?" He said as we smiled. We told him the time and went to prepare. Soon it was dark and, with Aunt Mary's permission, we went to the library to be rid of the ghost. The librarian opened the door before looking at the 4 of us.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" She asked us.

"This is the only option we have of getting rid of this ghost." Archie said to her.

"Trust someone who's dealt with a haunting before. We'll handle this peacefully _without_ bricking up the library." I told her, reassuring her, as I looked at Jughead while shooting down his opinion he most likely had.

"It scares me when she knows what I'm about to say." Jughead muttered as the librarian let us inside. I then noticed Jughead trying to sneak out.

"Oh no you don't!" I scolded as I grabbed his shoulders and yanked him in. He gasped as I forced him to the front desk.

"But I forgot to pay the meter." He said as he came up with an excuse.

"You don't own a car." I scolded as I put him in front of Quiet Violet's picture.

"She should be showing up shortly." I said to them.

"We have this figured out." Archie added in.

"And if you don't?" Jughead asked us.

"We're ghost toast." Archie said as I sighed.

"Not helping." I muttered out.

"Look." Betty said as she pointed to the picture. That's when she started coming out of the picture.

"Library hours are closed. Go away you trespassing vandals." She said as she then floated to us. I clung onto Jughead and he did me.

"Miss Stanhope. We're not vandals, we're here to help. This is the little boy you've been wanting to see for so long." Archie said as he motioned to Jughead and myself.

"The little boy?" She moaned out.

"Archie! You've baked me out to a ghost!" Jughead said as I let him go.

"Trust him. Archie explained everything to me." I told him as I comforted him. She then stopped floating and stopped looking scary as she looked like her living self, only see through.

"My how you've grown. And you have a girlfriend? How nice." She was saying, making me blush, as Jughead tried to calm down while hiding behind me.

"The growing up part is up for debate." Betty said as I giggled.

"It's a trick. She's just _acting_ nice so she can get the chance to grab me." Jughead said as he poked his head out from behind me.

"Jughead, you've got it all wrong. She won't hurt you." I reassured him.

"You poor dear, I don't know why you found me so frightening." She said sweetly. I bet she really is a nice person and Jughead just viewed her differently because of him being a child. That's when Jughead pointed at her.

"Well, you were mean. You wouldn't let me play with the globe!" He said to her as she looked at him.

"I wasn't being mean." She said while shaking her head. She then looked at him.

"The globe almost fell over on you, I was only warning you to be careful." She said as I re-pictured the scene where she was more worried and the globe wobbling.

"Well, what about that book you snatched from me?" He asked as he hesitated his question. I pictured him reading the book she told him not to read and imagined it differently as she explained further.

"That book was waiting to be repaired. All the pages were coming loose, that's why I took it from you and gave you that other book from the children's section." She said as Jughead gasped a bit.

"You gave me that book? I don't remember that." He asked in wonder before confessing his loss of memory at that part. I pictured she guided him to the children's section to enjoy the book.

"Well, you seemed awfully scared of me, maybe you blocked it out." She confessed sadly. I was feeling so bad hearing this story and I knew Jughead was too.

"Well you did make me stop laughing. That was really mean." He added in as I pictured him laughing because of the book.

"Do you remember how loud you were?" She suddenly asked. Now that I think about it, Jughead _can_ laugh kinda loudly sometimes. I pictured him laughing but it becoming louder and louder and disturbing others in the library.

"You were making quite a ruckus. A little happy noise in the library is okay, but you were _really_ laughing up a storm there, and there were other people in the library who were studying and needed quiet." She explained as I imagined her quietly shushing him but Jughead got upset from it all.

"I guess you're right about that." He confessed sadly.

"But I should've realized just how intimidated you were, I felt so _horrible_ when I saw that look on your face." She said as I pictured her feeling bad and going to try to comfort him but he ran away from her and never came back after that. I kinda wanted to cry now. I then heard Jughead sniffling.

"Well, I still don't understand why you chased me after I left the library. That was scary." He explained to her.

"You were leaving with that library book. I needed to give you a library card so you could check it out, but you were out the door too fast." She explained as she gently smiled at him. Jughead had come out of hiding and looked at her with sad eyes.

"I never stopped waiting for your next visit at the library. I wanted so much to show you how enjoyable our library was, but you never came back." She said sadly as Jughead then walked over to her to be near her.

"I thought you wanted to get me. I guess I was wrong about you. But you looked so mean." Jughead explained to her as she frowned lightly.

"People, like books, should never be judged by there covers." She explained to Jughead as he looked at me for a moment. Wait, why me? Maybe he thought about how I've said my parents can seem nice to others but were really horrible people? Maybe.

"I never meant to frighten anyone." She explained to us.

"But the problem is you have. When you gave out those overdue notices you put several people in a state of fright and when you attacked Archie in the library it frightened off everyone in here. Now nobody wants to come here since it's haunted. I could feel you roaming the library and, because of that, it prevented _me_ from coming here and enjoying these wonderful selection of books." I explained to her as she grew shocked and sad.

"That's awful! I only wanted to help, I didn't mean to frighten those people or anyone else. I didn't mean to make you not want to come here at all." She said as she aimed the last sentence towards me.

"It's time for you to move on now. Miss Herera will take good care of the library for you now." Betty said as Violet smiled at us.

"You're right. Of course I'll leave, under one condition." She said as she looked at me and Jughead.

"That these two, finally, get there library cards and promise to visit more often." She said as Jughead and I looked at each other before looking at her.

"I promise." Jughead said.

"I promise too." I said right to her. It was the least both of us could do.

"Goodbye then." She said as she began to go to the picture but then stopped and looked at us.

"What are your names?" She asked us.

"Jughead. Jughead Jones." Jughead replied.

"Aria Andrews. Archie's cousin." I replied casually.

"Enjoy reading these books Jughead Jones and Aria Andrews." She said before she went into the picture and disappeared. I could feel her presence had left for good.

"She crossed over." I said lightly as Jughead and I teared up.

"Is it possible to miss someone you never got a chance to know?" Jughead asked as I remembered Leviathan.

"Yes." I squeaked out as Jughead and I dried our tears.

"You can get to know her from her book." Betty pointed out as she sowed us the book. I smiled lightly at that. We decided to leave our information with the librarian and got our cards before leaving. Jughead and I lingered behind Archie and Betty as we talked.

"Thanks for getting me to come here. I never would've if it wasn't for you." He said as I smiled lightly.

"Not a problem. You'd do the same for me." I said as he then held me close.

"Tomorrow, after school, wanna read the book with me? We can take turns reading it to each other." He said as I smiled brightly while staring into his eyes.

"I'd like that. I'd like that a lot." I told him as I then rested my head on his shoulder/upper arm and continued to walk on. We brought Jughead home, then Betty parted with us as we walked inside our home. We then decided to change before writing up the mystery column.

"And so everything is as it should be. The ghost of Violet Stanhope no longer haunts the library, But her good influences will never go away. ~Archie. And the best part is Jughead has rediscovered the library after years of avoiding it. I have discovered the library after over a year of avoiding it as well. Cook books, Adventure stories, Mysteries, we're reading them all! But there _is_ one book we both enjoy reading to each other the most. Our favorite book written by Violet Stanhope. ~Aria. It's pretty good. You should check it out next time you're at the library. ~Archie…..In a little town called Riverdale! ~Archie and Aria!"

We finished the column and I was happy with it.

"Sorry I took up most of the ending review." I told Archie.

"It's fine. You rarely ever do and it looked great the way you wrote it down. I might not have done that well." Archie said while I shrugged.

"By the way, I bet your going to go through your savings for a month huh?" He asked me as I looked at him confused before I remembered my promise to Jughead.

"Oh no!" I yelped out as I smacked my forehead and pull my hand over my eyes as I nearly forgotten my promise. Archie just laughed as I took his pillow and threw it at him.

"Shut up!" I yelped out as he laughed harder. I decided to leave him to his laughing as I went to bed. We still had school tomorrow.

*Next day Aria's POV*

Reggie wouldn't leave me alone.

"Reggie Mantle I said leave me alone!" I shouted as I was leaving school for the day.

"Aw come on Doll Face, admit it, you care about me." He said as he slung his arm over my shoulder.

"I'm regretting our odd friendship more and more with every passing second." I told him as I shrugged his arm off my shoulders. Jughead soon swooped in and saved me from him. We went to the library and read the book Violet Stanhope wrote and we both enjoyed it so much. We made it a date to get a book and read it somewhere or in the library at least once a month. This one, however, was our favorite no matter what.


	35. Chapter 34

Chapter 34: Invisible Archie!

*Aria's POV*

It was now mid October and the leaves were barely starting to change colors. I was outside for gym class right now, 1 of 4 classes I didn't have with Jughead and 1 of 3 without Dilton, as I decided to jog with the girls. While they were wearing the blue shorts and yellow tops I strayed and wore a purple tank top, a bit too low cut but Aunt Mary got it for me so no complaints, with a black Chinese dragon wrapping around it and black mid thigh shorts with two white stripes on each side along with purple ankle socks, white sneakers with purple laces, and my hair in a ponytail with a white bow in it. My make up was the usual black half winged eye liner and I wore black studs in my ears. No gloves this time. Why jog? Nothing better to do and I needed to work on my speed and stamina anyways. Also….I gained a lot more weight than I wanted…...I've gained 30 pounds compared to when I first arrived. I'm not cutting back on burgers but I needed to turn it to muscle instead. Don't get me wrong I'm actually completely healthy as the doctor says but I guess it's a woman thing. Anyways, the three of us were jogging and I noticed Archie and Reggie were chatting. As we passed them though.

"Oh ladies." Reggie called. Betty and Veronica laughed while I rolled my eyes.

"I think we have a fan." Betty commented as I decided to look over just as I saw him giving the Mantle magic smile. Uhg.

"Is that a smile or is he in pain?" Veronica asked rhetorically.

"He just caused me pain." I said as the girls laughed a bit.

"I don't know if he's in pain, but he sure can be _a_ pain." Betty added as we laughed. I took a peek over and saw Archie with the pole.

"Looks like my cousin is attempting to show you girls some triple A action." I said with a giggle.

"What's that?" Betty asked me.

"Archie Andrews Action. Same thing I use except my name instead of his." I explained as I pointed out to him. I noticed them not looking so I looked over at what they were looking-Oh my stars! I saw a really buffed out looking African American teen, 17 maybe, tying his shoe laces. The girls waved at him as he waved back. Betty and Veronica went over to him as I shook my head lightly and continued jogging. I did another lap while the girls were talking and cling on to him. Wow! They're dating my cousin and they're straying from him? Seriously? I mean he's buff and kinda hot but I knew better. Something seemed familiar with him though. Do I know him? Just as I finished the lap and started stretching.

"Hey." I heard a deep male voice.

"Oh, um...Hi?" I said as I blushed. Thanks to all the running it looked like I was over heated a bit.

"Here. It's good to stay hydrated." He told me as he handed me a bottle of water.

"Thanks." I said as I took a few sips before putting it down. I was looking at him and the feeling of knowing him kept nagging at me.

"I'm sorry, but, do I know you?" I asked him as his eyes went wide in shock at first before he blushed lightly and rubbed the back of his head.

"Wow, have I really changed that much? I mean I met you last year when you first arrived." He said as I looked at him. Still at a loss.

"We were in English together." He said as he tried to remind me. I was picturing English class last year. I would've remembered a hunk like him. Definitely. He could tell I was still confused.

"You and I wrote an essay together on your favorite poem by Edgar Alan Poe. The Raven I believe it was." He reminded me as my eyes widened in shock.

"No way. Robbie Dobkins?" I questioned.

"One and same." He said as I stayed in shock. Holy Cheese he buffed out.

"You've….Been working….Out?" I asked him as I stayed shock.

"Yeah, I gained some muscles over the summer while I was away at camp." He told me as I tried to shake off my shock.

"A little? You _seriously_ buffed out from the Rollie Pollie you were last year." I said as I covered my mouth and started blushing.

"I meant _no~_ offense to that. I'm so~ sorry." I said as I removed my hands from my mouth and started apologizing. Robbie just laughed a hearty laugh.

"Still very honest and a bit blunt as usual. I'm glad, that's why I like you." He told me as I blushed again.

"O-oh." I stuttered out. I had _no_ idea what to say or do.

"Well, it was nice talking to you. I need to practice pole vaulting." He said as Betty and Veronica then clung onto him and gawked and gaveled about how he can pole vault and how they loved a man that could do that. I then grabbed my water and jogged off to the locker room. I needed to shower and cool off. What was wrong with me? I have two loving boyfriends and here I am having the hots for another guy. I'm becoming as bad as Betty and Veronica. What am I gonna do?

*Time skip Aria's POV*

I was looking outside, not paying much attention to science class, as it seemed to drone on and on. Jughead wasn't in my class with me, which upset me, so I've been pared up with Dilton a lot. Thanks to that I've gotten projects done a week early so I've been able to help Archie out, if Betty doesn't, and sometimes Jughead. Jughead was smart though so he really didn't need my help, he just loved the company. I had to stay distracted. Robbie Dobkins was in this class. Why?~ I mean, I have no problem with him, but I could feel myself heat up whenever he's around. Must be the muscles. We then had to pick partners, wonderful. I was smart enough to study with Dilton to get my homework done a week early. I've been doing that so, not only I could have more free time but, I can concentrate on my job and the weird mysteries every now and then. I didn't realize Robbie was staring at me while Betty and Veronica were talking to him as I decided to rush over to Dilton to see small explosion.

"Ack. My eyes!" I coughed out as I became temporarily blind. I then heard Dilton and Archie talking.

"Could one of you two guide me to the eye cleaning station? Ouch!" I had asked while trying to feel my way over to them before I slammed my knee into the side of the desk/counter.

"Oh Aria!" Dilton said worriedly as he realized the smoke reached my eyes.

"Seriously, hurry. I'm trying not to rub them." I said as I felt a hand grab my arm.

"Here, let me help." I suddenly heard Robbie say. I could feel my cheeks heating up but I couldn't tell him no, my eyes seriously needed to be rinsed out before something bad happened.

"Thanks." I managed to say as I felt myself get guided to the sink/eye rinsing area. I then heard running water as he guided my head to the water. I was now able to rinse my eyes properly. I finished and stopped the water.

"Here." Robbie said as he handed me a cloth. I patted my eyes dry, surprisingly keeping on the eye liner, as I gained my vision back.

"Thanks. I needed that." I said as I finished drying my eyes.

"No problem." He said with a light smile. Than Professor Flutesnoot came over.

"Are you alright Miss Andrews?" He asked me.

"Yes, I'm fine now." I said as I put the cloth down.

"Mr. Dobkins, do you have a partner yet?" He asked Robbie.

"No, not yet sir." He said as I noticed Betty and Veronica looking at us.

"Miss Andrews, I know you and Mister Doiley have finished but, could you help Mister Dobkins out so he does not fail and can stay on the track team?" He asked me as I looked at him.

"Are you sure you don't wand Betty to?" I asked him.

"I'd rather have Miss Cooper help out Mister Mantle or Miss Lodge." He explained as I sighed before smiling.

"Sure. It's not a problem. I don't mind tutoring him." I said as Robbie smiled.

"Thank you Miss Andrews." Professor Flutesnoot said before he went off to talk to Betty and Veronica.

"You made it onto track?" I suddenly asked Robbie as I remembered what Professor Flutesnoot said.

"Yeah. I got on the team but Reggie got booted off." He said as he looked a little bummed about that.

"I'm sure you didn't mean too. If Reggie would worry less about showing off and stop with his devious pranking and concentrated then I'm sure he would've stayed on the team." I said as I voiced my opinion. Robbie then smiled at me.

"You sure do know how to stay optimistic and honest huh?" He asked me as I shrugged. I then saw Dilton come over to us.

"You okay?" He asked me as he pulled me into a hug and looked at my eyes.

"Yes, much better now." I said with a smile.

"That's good." Dilton said as he kissed my cheek. I noticed Robbie looking at us oddly.

"Um, Dilton, you remember Robbie Dobkins correct?" I asked him as Dilton looked at Robbie.

"Yes, I remember. It's nice to see you again." Dilton said as he let go of me and shook Robbie's hand.

"Nice to see you too brainiac." Robbie said as he joked about his nickname. I giggled lightly as Dilton fixed his glasses.

"Thank you for assisting my girlfriend." Dilton said as he referred to me as his girlfriend instead of my name. Was he jealous?

"It's no problem." Robbie said with a smile.

"Dilton? I was told by Professor Flutesnoot that I needed to tutor Robbie so I won't be able to help you with your 'muscle juice' right now. I can swing by after school though." I told him, using the nickname I gave his experimental serum, as Dilton's eyes widened a bit before he smiled.

"Not a problem." He told me as I smiled. I then guided Robbie back to his desk area and began to tutor him with his project.

*Dilton's POV*

Professor Flutesnoot had just assigned us our partner project just as I pulled out all the stuff I need for my next experiment. 'Muscle juice' Aria nicknamed it. She's cute. She also said the scientific name would be a mouthful for a few, which made sense, so I kept the nickname. I had just added a wrong chemical and a small explosion of smoke erupted in my face.

"Ack. My eyes!" I heard someone say, I was unclear who as my new goggles, that can fit over my glasses that Aria made me for my birthday last weekend, became covered in black from the smoke.

"Oops." Was all I could mutter out.

"Having some trouble there Dilton?" I heard someone ask me. I swear the voice was familiar but I couldn't see who it was.

"What? Huh? Who said that?" I called out nervously. I than felt my chin get grabbed and my goggles got cleaned up and saw the voice _did_ belong to Archie.

"Oh! Hello Archie." I greeted him with a smile.

"Aren't you supposed to find a lab partner before you start? Or Aria as usual?" Archie asked me while I smiled and continued my project.

"Actually no. You see, we both actually finished this weeks project last week." I informed Archie as Reggie popped over.

"So, what's all this stuff?" Reggie asked me with a small attitude.

"One of the advantages to getting ahead in class is that I can use the school's resources to run my own experiments." I casually explained to them. It seemed simple to me but I guess it was something interesting for Archie to hear while Reggie found it boring and useless to hear.

"Could one of you two guide me to the eye cleaning station? Ouch!" We heard Aria say. I looked over and saw black powder from the smoke around her eyes. She was the one who's eyes got hurt. She had also banged her knee on the side of the work station trying to find us.

"Oh! Aria!" I gasped out when I saw her like this.

"Seriously, hurry. I'm trying not to rub them." She said just as one of the class mates lightly grabbed her arm. Wait? Was that Robbie Dobkins?

"Here, let me help." He said to her. I could faintly see her cheeks turning a very light rosy pink color. Did she like him? She thanked him as he guided her to the cleaning station.

"Was that Robbie Dobkins?" I asked them out of curiosity.

"Yeah. Anyways, tell us more about your latest project." Archie suddenly said as he grew curious of all the equipment. I smiled at him. I loved it when young minds, even if we are the same age, love, or at least like, to learn new things.

"Well, currently, I'm developing a formula that, with only one external application, enhances physique." I explained to them as Reggie was looking at my lizard.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Reggie asked as I grabbed the elixir and a dropper. I put some in the dropper and I told them to observe. I placed the dropper over the lizard and squeezed it onto the lizard.

"With only one application, The formula enhances the lizards physique." I explained as the lizard shook dry and then took two steps before becoming over muscular.

"You gave him muscles." Archie said bewildered as him and Reggie were looking at the lizard.

"Preciously, again why Aria calls it 'muscle juice'." I said as I had taken a book out and made a side note before closing it and looking at them. "That's amazing. How long does it last?" Archie said with a smile on his face. I wonder what's taking Aria so long?

"Let's see." I said as I opened the book to the time grid Aria put in there for me.

"Usually a couple hours. Than, according to my entries, the reptile returns to normal experiencing temporary feeling of inadequacy." I explained as I looked at the pictures Aria drew next to the notes and smiled lightly. I hope she's okay.

"Huh, any more muscles and the girls will be asking that _lizard_ to be their science partner." Archie said in bewilderment. I grew slightly confused.

"What do you mean? Don't Betty and Veronica _always_ ask you to be their partner?" I questioned him.

"Not today." Archie said as he sighed.

"It's all because of Dobkins. Say, before we change the subject, how about testing this on a person huh? I'll even pay you for it." Reggie started with but then suddenly threw that out there.

"What? No way. This stuff has never been tested on humans before, only lizards. Until Aria and I know the full results, this stuff is off limits." I said, stressing my words, as I put a cork on the bottle and put it in the cabinet under the work station.

"Now what were you saying about Dobkins?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Robbie got muscles over the summer and now the girls are fawning over him." Archie told me.

"Yeah, and it looks like he's making a move on Aria. She doesn't seem to be telling him no or anything." Reggie said as he pointed them out to me. I looked over and saw her eyes were better but her and Robbie were still talking.

"Excuse me." I muttered out as I went over to her. It was hard enough fighting against Jughead for her full attention and affection, there was no way I was letting another get in the way. She than noticed me coming over.

"You okay?" I asked her as I pulled her into a hug and looked at her eyes.

"Yes, much better now." She said with a smile.

"That's good." I said as I kissed her cheek.

"Um, Dilton, you remember Robbie Dobkins correct?" She asked me as I looked at Robbie.

"Yes, I remember. It's nice to see you again." I said as I let go of her and shook Robbie's hand.

"Nice to see you too brainiac." Robbie said as he joked about my nickname. Aria giggled lightly as I fixed my glasses.

"Thank you for assisting my girlfriend." I said as I referred to her as my girlfriend instead of her name. I wanted to voice out that we were together and put a subtle 'you can't have her' into it.

"It's no problem." Robbie said with a smile. I'm sure Reggie was getting in my head, he didn't seem like he purposely grabbed the girls attention. Either way she's working with me so problem solved.

"Dilton? I was told by Professor Flutesnoot that I needed to tutor Robbie so I won't be able to help you with your 'muscle juice' right now. I can swing by after school though." She told me, using the nickname she gave my experimental serum, as my eyes widened a bit before I smiled.

"Not a problem." I told her as she smiled. Was I happy? No. But if he needed tutoring then I can't say no. She then guided Robbie back to his desk area and began to tutor him with his project. I sighed and went over to shoo Reggie away from the bottle. Then the bell rang as I went over to Aria.

*Aria's POV*

I was on my way to my next class, which was study hall, as Robbie walked with me. Dilton had come up to us earlier and I told him I'd be there once I got permission, which I always did since it's the last class, and I'd meet him at the lab.

"You and Dilton seem very close." He told me as I smiled.

"Yeah, we are." I said to him.

"So the rumor last year, about you, Dilton and Jughead?" He asked me a bit awkwardly.

"Yeah. It wasn't supposed to happen but then Veronica opened her mouth with her rumor before it could be proven true and, well, one thing lead to another." I said with my cheeks flushed and a shrug.

"Don't they fight a lot?" He asked me curiously.

"Yeah, sometimes. We've made out a schedule of who I see when and that way I can have more time to work, get homework done, finish chores, take care of Allegro and be able to keep up with my hobbies and other friends." I explained to him.

"Allegro?" He questioned me.

"Oh that's right, you weren't at my birthday party because you went to camp. Allegro is my dog." I told him as he looked right at me.

"Cool. Sorry I missed your birthday. Who got him for you?" He told me and apologized as he asked that question.

"No worries and Jughead did. We went into a pet store and Allegro warmed up to me after a bit." I told him with a smile.

"He must really like you if he got you a dog." Robbie said as I blushed again. I walked him to his last class and went to mine. After getting permission I headed down to the lab to where Dilton should be by now. I walked in just to hear.

"I told you it was unstable!" Dilton yelled out to no one.

"Dilton? No one's there." I said to him.

"It was an accident! Honest! And I'm right in front of Dilton! I'm invisible!" I heard Archie as I went wide eyed.

"Let me guess, Reggie's fault." I said after I shook the shock away.

"Exactly." Archie said as I went over to Dilton.

"We've gotta fix this before something bad, or worse, happens." I said to Dilton just as I stepped on something hard.

"Ouch! That was my foot!" Archie yelped out as I pulled back.

"Sorry. Couldn't see ya." I said to him.

"So it made you invisible. Interesting." Dilton questioned while holding the formula and examining it.

"Wait, If you _and_ Reggie used it, then, where's Reggie?" I asked him out of curiosity.

"I don't know! Last time I checked, he should be in history class." Archie told us.

"I hope he's still there. Archie" I said to him while Dilton and I got started.

"Why does Reggie always cause problems? And he dragged Archie into this as well." I mostly said to myself as Dilton got started on a formula while I researched the effects on a human. If there's a time frame then we need to know soon.

"Who knows." Dilton said as I pricked my finger and put my blood on a glass slide with the formula. I was taking notes and handing Dilton a baker before I put the paper on the sample. Now, even though it's invisible, it should've made the paper wet. But it didn't.

"Huh?" I questioned as I felt the spot where my blood was. Nothing.

"Dilton? We got a problem." I said to him as he looked at me.

"What's wrong?" He asked me.

"Well, with a small sample the time frame is shortened, but my blood sample I mixed with the formula...It's…..Gone." I told him as he, too, grew shocked.

"What do you mean it disappeared?" He asked me.

"Well, It's not just invisible, it's gone. Wiped clean from existence. I think the 'muscle juice', on people, makes them invisible first before making them disappear completely." I told him as he looked at me.

"What does that mean?" Archie asked us.

"While I'll be super amalgamated. If that's true then we've only got less than a few hours before Archie will fade from existence." Dilton said scientifically while looking over the notes.

"That's interesting how instead of enhancing one's physique it goes far beyond just taking them away." Dilton muttered with pure fascination.

"Fade from existence?!" Archie yelped out while Dilton was looking over the formula and other chemicals.

"As in gone forever." Dilton said as he wasn't catching on to the situation.

"As in gone forever?!" Archie yelped out again. I tapped Dilton's shoulder as he looked at me. He then saw my sad and worried look and realized exactly what he said and what the situation was.

"Huh? Oh my!" Dilton said as it finally clicked.

"We need to start this formula quicker than we thought. Archie! You need to find him, I'll help Dilton with making a solution." I told him.

"Before you go we need to be able to see you." Dilton said before they made a disguise, a horrible one at that, and Archie left to find Reggie.

"I hope Reggie cooperates." Dilton said as I rolled my eyes.

"Knowing Mister Mischievous than I doubt it." I said as we got to work. It took us all of our last class period, and a few extra minutes, but we managed to create an antidote. Hopefully it works.

"Eureka! We've done it!" Dilton announced while holding the beaker up.

"Dilton!" Archie yelled after the door slammed open.

"Ah!" Dilton screamed out and dropped the beaker. I grabbed it before it could fall and break.

"You've _really_ got to stop doing that." Dilton scolded as I held the beaker close to me.

"I got it. Let me guess, Reggie's not cooperating?" I questioned Archie.

"Yeah." He said as I took a quick guess.

"Wants to prank Robbie for hogging the girls?" I asked quickly.

"It's scary how you can figure these things out quickly." Archie commented.

"I just know pranksters like him is all. Anyways, if he wants to prank Robbie, then I know how to get him to take this, if it works that is." I said as I gave the solution back to Dilton.

"Here, try a splash of this." Dilton said as Archie took it and dumped the small portion given to him all over himself. He then turned visible.

"Great! It works! Now we only have a small time frame before Reggie disappears forever. Would it really be that bad?" I questioned them.

"Aria!" Archie scolded.

"Alright! Alright. I was just joking." I said as I grabbed the rest of the formula before we headed out to the field.

"It's too big out here, we'll never find him." Dilton exclaimed.

"Which is why we do this." I said as I guided them to the sprinkler system and had Archie grab a wrench.

"Oh I get it! You're going to mix this in the sprinkler system and turn it on to spray him." Archie said to me.

"That's a great idea." Dilton complimented me.

"Thank you." I said as I poured the solution in the system and then, after closing it, turned on the sprinklers.

"We need to go. Now." I said as I grabbed them and bolted quickly away. We saw Reggie get turned to normal before he pantsed Robbie and got punched for it.

"He had it coming." I mumbled.

"Stay here. I'll be back." I said as I ran to the sprinklers to see Mr. Weatherbee trying to shut it off. I ran over and assisted him. When he asked about it I told him I saw Reggie do it to try and distract Robbie and how he took Archie's hall pass, Archie explained why he took so long on the way here, and tried to come over here to turn it off without getting wet. He believed me 100% and made his way to Reggie. I ran over to the boys and explained what I said and got us all off the hook. What? Reggie deserved it. The game then got postponed to next week.

"So, Aria, wanna head to Pops?" He asked me.

"Can't, it might be my day off but, I gotta help Robbie with his project." I told him as he slumped his shoulders and sighed. I smiled and kissed his cheek.

"I can after though." I told him as he perked up and smiled.

"Ah! Great." He said happily. After 20 minutes I ran into Robbie and we headed off to the library to study. We talked, laughed, got his work done and after an hour we were walking to Pop's together.

"Thanks for the help." Robbie thanked me as I smiled.

"It's no problem." I said as we rounded the corner.

"Hey babe!" I heard Vinnie as I saw him heading over to me.

"Oh no." I muttered quietly. I guess Robbie heard me.

"What'ya doing with the jock? I told you not to be with other guys unless I say so." Vinnie said with anger in his voice.

"I told you to leave me alone." I told him with anger rising in my voice and an angry look to match.

"What did I say about talking back?" He questioned as he went to hit me.

"You hit me again and, I swear, I'll break your arm this time." I told him as I readied myself. He formed a fist and went to hit me but Robbie stopped him. Vinnie looked at Robbie and saw him get angry and growl before Vinnie gulped. He then glared at Robbie and went to hit him before Robbie beat Vinnie up and tossed him aside.

"Let's get you out of here." Robbie told me as he wrapped his arm around me and guided me away from him.

"I can't believe that garbage is _still_ bothering you. I mean, I heard rumors that he was getting serious about wanting you and all but, I didn't think it was that serious." Robbie commented as we got to Pop's. We went inside, as he still held me close to him, as we saw Dilton and he brought me over to him.

"Thanks Robbie. You didn't have to do that though." I told him as he smiled at me.

"It's no problem. People like Vinnie make me sick anyways." He told me as he let me go and smiled at me.

"Vinnie giving you problems again?" Dilton questioned me.

"Yeah. Robbie helped though." I said as I sat down across from Dilton.

"Thanks for helping her and bringing her here Robbie." Dilton said as he stood up and shook Robbie's hand.

"It's no problem. Aria's a sweet girl. I'm glad she has someone like you and Jughead who care for her." Robbie said as Dilton and I blushed. We said our goodbyes as Dilton and I grabbed a few burgers to eat.

"So, how's that dream machine coming along?" I asked him out of curiosity.

"If we both work on it on our spare time then it should be done after Christmas. After spring break the latest." He told me as I smiled.

"Cool." I said to him as I sipped my soda.

"The nightmares getting worse?" Dilton asked me.

"They come and go. It's not that bad yet. I just can't always remember what they're about. Just bits and pieces." I explained as I sighed.

"I'll help anyway I can." He told me as I smiled at him.

"Thanks." I thanked him as I reached my hand out to rest on one of his. We smiled and continued our….Date? I guess you could call it that. Anyways I walked him home before I started heading back. I was two blocks away from home when I heard something. I turned around and Vinnie used an iron bar to hit my in the face. I yelped. I fell onto the ground before I felt him straddle me and start hitting me.

"You really are dumb ain't ya?" He told me as I started to fight back. I then heard barking and growling. Vinnie looked up and then he got up and ran off. I just laid there. My head hurt a lot.

"Aria!" I heard someone call me.

"Aria!" I heard again. I was in a fetal position. I felt like I couldn't move. I felt something wet and rough on my arm. I looked and saw a dog.

"Allegro?" I questioned as he whimpered and licked my face.

"Aria! Are you alright?" I heard someone ask.

"Uncle Fred?" I asked as I tried to look up. I couldn't see well.

"Aria!" I heard Archie as Uncle Fred bent down to my face.

"Archie! Get your mother. Now!" Uncle Fred said as I tried to focus my vision. I kept hearing Allegro barking and whining.

"Can you hear me?" I heard Uncle Fred ask.

"Yeah." I said to him.

"Can you see?" He asked me.

"Not really. I'm alright though." I said as I tried to stand up.

"Stay there. Don't move." He told me as I felt something wet run down my face.

"Oh god you're bleeding." Uncle Fred said as I heard Allegro whining more. Archie bolted back.

"Mom's calling the hospital." Archie said to us.

"I'm alright. I just need to clean up and put ice on me." I said as I tried to stand up but got dizzy.

"Stay down. You're hurt." I heard Archie say as I ended up sitting back down.

"What's wrong?" I heard Betty's voice. I then heard her gasp.

"What happened?" She suddenly asked in shock. I soon heard sirens and was being put onto a stretcher. They started asking questions as I answered them as best as I could. I tried so hard to stay awake as I felt someone grab my hand.

"It's alright. I'm right here." I heard Uncle Fred tell me as I tried to focus my vision again. I got to the hospital and they patched me up. Concussion, broken nose, right eye was black, temples swollen, and a few bruises on my arms and sides. I'm lucky nothing else was broken or fractured. I was also glad my jaw didn't get damaged. If it wasn't for Allegro it might have been worse. Uncle Fred was next to me and that's when I heard it. Sobbing. He was crying.

"Please don't cry. I'll cry." I told Uncle Fred as he then held me in his arms. I hugged him back. I had forgotten Uncle Fred was the sensitive type. Once we got the okay Uncle Fred took me home. I still had a hard time seeing but Uncle Fred helped me out. He opened the door and I heard Allegro whining. I reached to try and pet him as I felt him lick my hand.

"Is she alright?" I heard Aunt Mary ask.

"Archie, can you bring her upstairs?" I heard Uncle Fred ask him.

"Sure." Archie said as he came out.

"Archie, Let's go to your room 1st. I wanna help finish the weird mystery column." I told him.

"Are you sure?" He asked me.

"Yeah." I muttered out. He helped my up the stairs as we went to his room. He sat me on the bed and told me he'd type and all I had to do was tell him. I agreed to that.

"Poor Reggie, who thinks he was the victim of our practical joke and had gotten blamed for this when really, we were using the sprinklers to save his life. ~Archie. Granted he got clobbered in the process, which he fully deserved for Pantsing Robbie, but that was his own fault. He's going to get in worse trouble if he keeps the pranks up. Oh well. He'll learn. ~Aria. Maybe next time Reggie's invisible he won't use it as an excuse to cause trouble. ~Archie. ….In a little town called Riverdale. ~Archie and Aria!"

We finished the article and Archie helped me downstairs to my room. I told him I could manage changing and getting in bed. He agreed and left. I tossed on a night gown and Allegro guided me to bed where I went to sleep.


	36. Chapter 35

Chapter 35: Scarlet Night!

*Aria's POV*

It was two days before Halloween. I loved this time of year. Some of the trees were still green and full while others had changed colors and even shed some leaves off. It was, surprisingly, warm out as the sun shined brightly here in Riverdale. I was doing a lot better. Vinnie got arrested, and would be released after Halloween since his bail will be fully paid off, as I accepted that. My concussion was gone, my nose cast brace thing would come off and stay off after today, my eye was still lightly bruised, and I could see again. I had to take a couple days off school and work because I couldn't see straight. I hated worrying everyone but I was back and good as new….Almost. Jughead and Dilton kept babying me and I had to get them to stop. Dilton was so upset, he kept blaming himself for not walking me home. Betty was worried when she saw me on the ground that night, Veronica found out from Betty and was worried as well. Heck, even _Reggie_ was worried beyond all reason. Robbie, Collins, Ronin, Geoff, Tyrone, Tyler, and Jimmy were livid about that, especially Robbie since he had already beat him up before hand. Moose, Midge and Big Ethel were upset and Moose promised to help me next time he saw him….He's such a gentle giant. I told everyone that I was fine but they didn't believe me. It was the first time I ever had a broken nose though. Not fun. Anyhow I was outside the school, lying on the grass while Jughead and Archie were on the bench. Archie was reading the article while Jughead was eating.

"You feeling alright?" I heard Jughead ask me.

"Just thinking." I said as I had my eyes closed.

"Don't tell me your still thinking about Vinnie and what happened." Archie said to me.

"No. I figured out his grandmother is paying the bail. Also I already know why he jumped me. No, I'm just thinking about a Halloween costume." I said as I sighed and kept my eyes closed. I then heard the familiar sound of heels walking this way. Two of them actually.

"When we can be talking to Archie-kins." I heard Veronica's last words of her sentence.

"Wow, Betty _and_ Veronica? This must be my lucky day." Archie exclaimed as I rolled my eyes under my closed lids. After Robbie had beat up Reggie, who deserved it, Betty and Veronica became a little less interested in him and fawned over Archie again. I swear. Anyways I had started to tune out the conversation when Veronica yelled something about being afraid of the tooth fairy. I opened my eyes and sat up just in time to see Jughead covering Veronica's mouth and whispering something to her. I laughed lightly. Jughead still believed in the tooth fairy, Easter bunny, and other stuff. He was like a giant child and I thought it was super adorable. Veronica swiped Jughead's hand away from her.

"Excuse me." I heard a gentle feminine voice speak. I looked over and saw a ginger wearing a purple top and skirt with purple shoes on. Something felt off about her but I shrugged it off. Maybe it was just my imagination. She then held up something. A newspaper.

"Your Archie Andrews aren't you?" She asked Archie as I slowly got up. I slipped and yelped before I felt hands grab me.

"You alright?" I heard a British voice ask.

"Yeah thanks." I stated to say before it slowly turned into a whisper. I was grabbed by a handsome guy, about 17 or so, with black hair with red bangs, hair that was slicked back except for his bangs that fell forward but parted both ways, fair skin, and odd brown eyes that looked almost red.

"Not a problem love." He said again with a British accent. My heart thumped. What? British accents are hot. He helped me stand up straight as I brushed off grass and dirt.

"You wouldn't happen to be Aria Andrews would you?" He asked me as I looked at him.

"Yes? How did you know?" I asked him. I don't recall meeting him. He then showed me the newspaper.

"I had been told that there were cousins with orange hair who write these articles and, since my friend Scarlet is talking to him, that makes you Aria." He told me in a logical way. Oh my. I think I'm blushing.

"Yeah. That's me." I said as I was becoming lost in his eyes. I noticed he was wearing black slacks, black shoes, and a white, medieval looking shirt, like Romeo's in Romeo and Juliet, that was tucked in a bit. He looked so handsome. I couldn't stop staring.

"I read the article and I think you did a magnificent job. The words felt like they flew from the page. I felt like I could really see the vampires you two described." He told me as I blushed.

"I don't wish to be a bother. My name's Nye, Nye Belmont. Scarlet and I just transferred here from Redlands." He told me as I finally snapped out of it.

"Pleasure to meet you." I said as I extended my hand. He took my hand in his but brought it to his lips and kissed it. I remember reading that some British people still follow the old ways and this is how the men would greet women. I blushed while he did this.

"Hey!" I heard Jughead yell out as I was hugged from behind and the hand that was being kissed was now pulled back and next to me.

"Why are you kissing my girlfriend's hand?" Jughead asked in a defensive manner.

"Jughead!" I scolded out his name.

"He's a transfer student." I told him.

"I beg your pardon. I meant no harm. I was simply raised by my families old British ways on how to greet a lady." Nye explained to Jughead.

"Oh….Well….I still don't like it." Jughead said in a disappointed voice before grumbling the last part out.

"If you do not mind, I'd like to talk more about this article with you." Nye said as I looked at him.

"I'm going to have to decline. I have plans tonight." I told him. I had a date tonight.

"Then perhaps tomorrow?" He asked me.

"Tomorrow sounds fine, but Archie is the one who wrote up most of the article so I'm not sure how I can be of help." I explained to him.

"Well, you wrote a few things in here that peaked my interest." He pointed out as I blushed. Why couldn't I stop staring at his eyes? I had this urge to continue saying yes to him. Why?

"She's right though, Archie is better to talk to." Jughead said in a defensive tone.

"That's fine too. I'm new around here so it would be nice to have a friend before school starts up again." He said to us as Jughead held me tighter.

"You're always welcome to talk to me." I told him with a smile. I leaned in to Jughead's hug to let him know it was fine.

"I'm glad to have met you Aria." He told me as he then walked off.

"Jughead that was rude." I told him.

"Not my fault. I don't like guys kissing you." He told me.

"Are you jealous?" I asked him in a teasing tone.

"Yes. Yes I am. I don't want to share you." He told me as I giggled.

"What are we doing for date night?" I asked him.

"Well I figured we'd grab some burgers from Pops and head over to my place for a Halloween themed movie marathon." He told me as I smiled at him.

"Sweet." I said with a smile. Archie then caught my attention.

"Aria, this is Scarlet. Scarlet, this is my cousin, Aria." Archie suddenly said as Scarlet came up to me.

"Nice to meet you Scarlet." I said to her with a smile.

"Likewise." She greeted me before she pulled my cousin away from us. What just happened? I then felt Jughead hold me tighter.

"Looks like you girls have competition." Jughead told them.

"So do you and Dilton." Veronica pointed out rudely.

"Veronica!" I scolded her.

"Now I see why you're having nightmares about redheads." Betty said with an attitude.

"Wait? What's this about redheads?" I asked suddenly.

"Veronica had a nightmare about vampires and a redhead." Betty suddenly said.

"Weird. I've been having vampire dreams for a couple nights now. That's how I got Archie to write the article." I confessed to them.

"How weird." Betty mumbled.

"It doesn't matter! It's just a dream! Can't we just move on!" Veronica yelled out in anger before she stormed off. I just shrugged.

"Hey Betty, wanna hang out for a bit?" I asked her.

"Not now. I have something I need to do." She suddenly said before she walked off. Now I was confused. I just shrugged.

"Can you come with me to a costume store? I need a costume." I asked Jughead and let him know I still needed a costume.

"Sure." He told me as I smiled at him. He didn't know it yet but I had been working on a Rudolph costume for him. He had the nose and the antlers so I was working on putting the suit together for him. I also had make up put aside to help. I know Dilton is going as a scientist, since I got the props together, so I decided no couple costumes because of the differences.

"Any ideas on what you wanna be?" Jughead asked me as we walked to the nearest costume shop.

"None." I told him as I sighed.

"Wanna be the Cupid to my Rudolph?" Jughead asked in a flirty way.

"I swear you're becoming bold ever since we started dating." I mumbled more to myself than to him.

"So? Is that a bad thing?" He asked me.

"Jughead, you know I won't do couple costumes because you and Dilton are dressing up differently." I said as I sighed. This was annoying.

"So which do you choose?" He suddenly asked me.

"Wh-what?!" I yelped out as I started turning red.

"Will you choose one of us?" He asked me. I was shocked and blushing.

"W-well yeah. Yeah, b-but I-I-I can't. Not now." I managed to stutter out. I couldn't choose from them. It's been almost a year, yes, but I still couldn't choose between two wonderful guys.

"Alright. I won't push it again." He said as I smiled lightly.

"Thank you." I said lightly as we walked into a costume store. We walked in and it was filled with so many costumes.

"Welcome! Everything is on sale so please help yourself." The sales woman said as I smiled at her. I started wondering around at the many different costumes.

*Maybe a witch?* I thought as I pulled out a witch costume. I then grimaced and shook my head no as I put the costume back. I pulled out a Cleopatra costume but immediately put it back. Jughead had wondered off somewhere as I kept looking.

"Need help?" I suddenly heard right next to my ear. I shrieked and jumped away from the sudden voice. I looked over and saw a laughing Jimmy.

"What did I say about that!" I shrieked at him.

"I couldn't resist." He laughed out as I put my hand over my heart and took a few deep breaths.

"What happened?!" Jughead yelled out as he saw the scene before him.

"I'm alright." I breathed out as Jimmy stopped laughing.

"Sorry, I thought I saw her but I wanted to scare her to be sure." Jimmy said as I sighed.

"This is going to be a Halloween tradition for you huh?" I asked as I had calmed down.

"Yeah, pretty much." He said as I rolled my eyes.

"Alright. You got me good and, yes, I do need help." I told him as he smiled brightly. Now the three of us were on the hunt.

"How about an angel?" Jimmy asked as he pulled out a tiny white….Dress? It looked more like a lingerie gown to me.

"Um, no." I said with my cheeks a bit pink. Jimmy just shrugged before putting it back. I then wondered into the back to the other costumes.

"How about this?" I suddenly heard as I spun around at the sudden voice.

"Nye?" I asked as I saw him holding up a gorgeous gown. It was a medieval type gown, white, with tints of lavender and gold to it. I also noticed the light amount of ruffles to it. I became captivated by the beauty of the dress as he came closer to me.

"I believe this would look lovely with your hair colour and your *Deep hissing breath* _smooth_ creamy skin." He said as he appeared behind me and put the gown up in front of me, holding it against my body, to see it on me without trying it on.

"See? Quite lovely. You would make a fair maiden." He told me as I stood frozen. I couldn't move for some reason. It was like, I was hypnotized. What was wrong with me.

"This is what you should wear." He told me as I felt the urge to suddenly buy it. He then handed me a pair of shoes and some lavender and gold ribbons before pulling away. I could feel myself regain movement and felt less hypnotized.

"Tha-" I started to thank him while turning to look at him but he wasn't there.

*Where did he go? Did I…...Did I imagine it?* I thought before slowly turning around and headed to the front desk, unaware of the eyes that followed me. I had just finished paying for the medieval maiden costume when Jughead and Jimmy came up to me.

"Where'd ya go?" Jimmy asked me.

"I was back there. You didn't see me?" I pointed to where I was and then asked them that. They shook their heads no. Now I was wondering if Nye really was there or not. I shrugged and let Jimmy pay for his costume before going our separate ways.

"To Pop Tate's?" Jughead asked as I nodded in approval.

"Jughead. Can I ask you something?" I asked him before he nodded yes.

"Did you see Nye in the store?" I asked. Jughead looked at me with a look like he sucked on a lemon.

"Why ya thinking about him?" He suddenly asked me.

"I'm not. I thought I saw him in the store. Did you or did you not?" I asked him.

"No. Jimmy and I were together looking for a costume for him. I didn't see him." He told me as I shrugged.

"Guess it was just me." I said to him.

"So? Why _are_ you imagining him?" Jughead asked me as I glared at him.

"Jughead Jones! Don't you even insinuate that I would ever cheat on you and Dilton for another guy. I'm not like Betty and Veronica. Yes, I will admit, I've seen cute guys and some gentlemen but my heart will be with you two no matter what." I told him as I felt offended.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you, I just, well." He started before trailing off.

"I know I'm yours and Dilton's 1st girlfriend, 1st girl to go on a date with, 1st kiss, You two are my 1st boyfriends, dates, and kisses as well. I understand the jealousy but you need to trust me. I trust the two of you." I told him as he sighed. "I trust _you,_ it's the other guys I don't trust." He told me as I sighed before lightly smiling.

"I don't trust many of them either." I said to him as I put my hand on his arm.

"But believe me when I say that, no matter what happens, even when the time comes where I must choose one of you, I will always hold both of you in my hearts and feel love towards you. Even if it turns into a friendship love." I assured him as he smiled at me.

"You always know how to comfort me." He said as he wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close to him in a sideways hugging manner.

"I'm your girlfriend. I'm _supposed_ to know how to comfort, love, and give good advise." I said as he chuckled.

"True, but even before we dated, you always made me feel happy." He told me as I blushed.

"W-well I-I'm glad." I stuttered out.

"It's cute when you get embarrassed." He suddenly told me. I puffed out my cheeks and pouted at him.

"It's not cute." I muttered out. Jughead started laughing after that.

"It's even cuter when you pout." He said as I pouted some more. We soon made it into Pop Tate's and went to the register. We ordered our usual 50 burgers and two soda's, when we're together, and left once we got our food. By the time we reached home the sun was getting ready to set.

"Aunt Mary, Uncle Fred, I'm back!" I yelled out as Allegro rushed to the door and greeted us.

"Hey buddy." Jughead greeted him. Allegro barked and wagged his tail while Jughead and I pet him.

"Glad to see you home deary." Aunt Mary greeted me. I looked up to see her wearing one of her date night clothes.

"Date night with Uncle Fred?" I asked her.

"Yes and I want you to behave." Uncle Fred said as he soon showed up right next to her.

"I will." I said with a smile.

"We should be back in 3 hours or so." Aunt Mary told me before she kissed my cheek. Uncle Fred gave me a hug and I said my goodbye's and saw them off.

"Looks like we got the place to ourselves." I said with a smile.

"Yeah, guess we do." Jughead said to me.

"I'm going to put mu costume upstairs, why don't you pick out a movie for us to start with." I said to him.

"Sure." He replied as I headed up the stairs. I quickly put the costume away and rushed downstairs to be close to Jughead. I have been very clingy to the boys lately and I wasn't exactly sure why. Oh well. Anyhow, I hoped on the couch next to him as he got ready to start the movie.

"What ya put on?" I asked him as the movie started.

"Dracula, what else?" He said casually as I giggled and cuddled next to him. Dracula was a classic, we've both seen it over a hundred times. We ate the burgers and was about half way done with the movie as I cuddled closer to him.

"You sure do like to cuddle huh?" He asked me as I blushed.

"Sorry, I'll move." I said as I went to move. As I started to I felt a sudden tug. I yelped as I fell onto Jughead's lap.

"Don't. I like you close to me." He said as I blushed.

"Alright." I whispered as I just looked in his eyes. I then felt his lips touch mine and soon he was on top of me, on the couch, as we kissed. I then felt his tongue lightly trace my lips. I didn't hesitate to let him in. I my arms wrapped around his neck as he wrapped one arm around my waist and used his opposite hand to rub up and down my sides. I gave a small moan as I adjusted my legs to be outside of his so he could be closer to me. Our bodies were grinding against each other as his free hand stopped roaming my body and soon his fingers were tangled in my hair. We could feel the heat coming off of us as our tongues searched each other's mouths for the very 1st time.

"Mom! Pop! You home?" I suddenly heard Archie yell out. I pushed Jughead off me. He yelped as he hit the floor.

"Still out on date night!" I yelled out as I say up and fixed myself before pulling Jughead up on the couch.

"Sorry." I whispered as I blushed lightly.

*What am I thinking? I shouldn't have done that. Why did I go that far? It felt great though. I shouldn't have. It wasn't right.* I thought in a fluster. I peaked over and saw Jughead was blushing and looking flustered as well.

"I shouldn't have-" He started before I put my hand on his. We looked at each other and smiled. We then heard Archie scream. I bolted up and headed to the front door where the scream was.

"What's up?!" I shouted as I then saw Scarlet. I saw her but she didn't look like herself. She had pale skin, red eyes, claws and fangs. Scarlet was a _**vampire!**_ Archie was on the ground, rendered helpless, as I felt my blood boil.

"Get away from him!" I shouted as I ran and tackled her into the door.

"Archie run!" I shouted before she used her vampire strength to slam me into the wall. I yelped out as I slid down. Allegro jumped at her but she did the same thing to him before she grabbed the rug and made Archie fall. She went over to him and then picked him up.

"Aw. I thought you liked me. You did earlier." She teased him.

"You weren't a vampire then." He said as Jughead tried to sneak up on her.

"Sure I was." She said before she spotted Jughead and slammed him into the stairs.

"Jughead!" I shouted. I had crawled next to Allegro when she did that.

"But how? I thought daylight destroyed vampires." Archie said to her. I was actually curious about that too. Archie had gotten loose and backed up away from her.

"I _was_ fascinated by your article, but you did make a few mistakes." She said with her hands on her hips before she made her way over to him and grabbed the collar of his shirt again.

"Seen too many vampire movies I suspect." She said as she lightly patted his cheek. I had Allegro go to Jughead as I charged at her again.

"Leave him alone!" I yelled out before she grabbed me and flipped me onto the coffee table. It gave out and had me fall through it and onto the floor. I yelped out in pain when I made contact with the floor.

"You should've learned the first time." She said as I got up.

"Like I'm going to loose." I said as I charged at her again. She growled and grabbed me. Before I could react she held me in the air before, literally, tossing me into the kitchen.

"Aria!" Archie yelled out. I could barely hear them talking about her master as I got up.

*Think Aria!* I scolded before I thought of something. Garlic. I rushed to the cabinet and found garlic powder.

"Hope this works." I mumbled as I snuck out to see her talking to him.

"The chosen one, yes, but not you Archie. Don't you understand?" She said to him as I figured it out.

*Great. This vampire has the hots for my cousin.* I thought bitterly as I started to sneak up near her.

"You're special." She hissed out as she got ready to bite him.

"Hey!" I shouted as she turned and glared at me.

"Eat this!" I shouted as I threw the garlic powder on her.

"Ack!" She yelped out as she started scratching.

"Get the necklace!" Archie yelled as he broke free. I darted and grabbed the pendant as I saw Betty and Veronica pull Archie out the window. I ran to Jughead, who had gotten up, and pulled him out the door with me. I was going near them when Scarlet yelled something about a chosen one. I looked at the pendant and stopped. I saw it before. Jughead had ran past me. I didn't hear the voices shouting to me. I felt and energy pulsing through me.

"Get the sun stone!" I heard Scarlet scream.

*Flashback To Dream*

 _I was wearing a medieval dress as I ran down the water covered streets. I turned into an ally and found myself trapped. I turned and saw a gruesome looking vampire, over muscular, bald, and full of power stare me down as he drew closer._

 _"_ _Give me the pendant." He said to me as he tried to charm and coax me like he did before._

 _"_ _Never." I told him as I held the stone in front of me._

 _"_ _Cross of silver,_

 _Ray of light,_

 _In the ender's hand will end the night!"_

 _I shouted as the stone glowed and made the vampire vanish from sight._

*End Flashback*

*Maybe the chant will activate it.* I thought as I held the stone in front of me and to the two male vampires.

"Cross of silver,

Ray of light,

In the ender's hand will end the night!"

I shouted as the stone in the pendant glowed. Then a ray of sunlight illuminated from the stone and vanquished the two vampires. I smiled before I was tackled to the ground. The pendant flew from my hand.

"You're the ender! You're the chosen one! Your blood is mine!" She shouted as I began to fight her. I saw Allegro growling at her.

"Allegro! Get the necklace! Give it to Veronica!" I shouted. He obeyed my command and gave it to Veronica.

"Cross of silver, Ray of light, In the ender's hand will end the night!" She shouted as the sun stone started to glow. Scarlet noticed this and gasped.

"No!" She shouted before the light hit her and turned her into red mist. I coughed and wavered it away as I stood up.

"Aria! You okay?" Jughead asked as he rushed over to me.

"A bit sore but fine." I said as he engulfed me in a hug.

"We did it. One of us must be the chosen one." Veronica said as she pulled me into a hug when Jughead let me go.

"Huh? Chosen one?" I asked as she explained to me about the pendant, the sun stone, what Dr. Beaumont said and all that. I smiled because I felt like I helped out a lot.

"I still think you're the chosen one, so why don't you hang on to it and hide it somewhere safe. Like a shoe box in your closet. Goodness knows that might actually be the safest spot to hide it." I told her as I closed her hands around the necklace with my own hands and smiled at her.

"Good idea." She said as we both laughed lightly. We all went inside and talked about the mystery and what had just happened. After gathering the notes Betty went home, Veronica took a reluctant Jughead home, Aunt Mary and Uncle Fred came home, I explained the table to them, they didn't get mad surprisingly, and Archie and I went up to his room to type up the article.

"Veronica really did do it. Veronica figured out she was a vampire before anyone else, even before Aria who figures thing out before others. ~Archie. I have to give Veronica credit on that one. For someone who wanted to be done with the vampire talk and doesn't like weird mysteries so much, she really pulled through in the end. ~Aria. Her and Aria were able to use the sun stone to vanquish the vampires. ~Archie. I still think Veronica is the chosen one and I just got lucky. Either way there gone. Lets hope we don't see them again. ~Aria. I guess sometimes we can do a lot more than we give ourselves credit for. Just ask a girl named Veronica. ~Archie. …...In a little town called Riverdale! ~Archie and Aria."

We finished typing the mystery up as I stretched.

"So what were you and Jughead doing here alone?" Archie asked me as he raised an eyebrow.

"Aunt Mary and Uncle Fred said yes to him being here when they left. We watched Dracula before you and Draculaura entered." I said as I laughed lightly at my joke.

"Haha. Very funny." He said sarcastically.

"See ya tomorrow." I said to him as I walked down the steps and went to my room. I dressed in my lavender gown and went to bed, unaware of the red bat eyes that watched me fall asleep before flying off into the night.


	37. Chapter 36

Chapter 36: I Was A Teenage Vampire!

*Third POV*

It was the dead of night, dawn would be among the town of Riverdale in just a few short minutes, as a bat flew from the sky, with red mist following shortly behind from the ground, and over to what appeared to be an abandoned mansion. The red mist slipped under the doorway while the bat had flown in from an open window. Both made there ways into the lower area, where the ground showed and windows boarded up to make it even more dark and dreary, to soon regain there human form. The red mist was the 1st to turn into it's true form…..Scarlet Helsing.

"I'm back.~" She said in a creepy yet cheery tone.

"You're late. Did you not hear the master's call?" The vampire ask. The mysterious male vampire had blue hair in a sideways Mohawk, pale skin and red eyes like all vampires have, wearing an open gray leather jacket, tan tank top, brown ripped slacks and biker boots on. He was holding three shovels to Scarlet. She huffed and took one.

"Of course I did, I'm here aren't I?" She asked him.

"You should help too Nye. You're late as well." The male vampire called out. As soon as he did a bat flew down in front of them and soon morphed into the familiar vampire Nye Belmont.

"I shouldn't have to but I will anyhow." Nye said to him, with a hint of royal arrogance to his voice, as he grabbed the third shovel from him. The three than began to dig. It was time to free their master. When night fell upon them once more they had finally pulled the master's coffin from underground. It had taken them so long because of how weak and tired they were from drinking blood for so long. Once the coffin was on the ground and out of the hole the lid slowly opened.

"The master awakens." The mystery vampire spoke.

"Bout bloody time." Nye said as he dusted himself off. Soon the master rose from the coffin with a laugh. Scarlet stared at him lovingly. She had fallen in love with the master 200 years ago, the night he turned her into a vampire, and had been by his side ever since. The master, tall, bald, wore no shirt but a few bandages around his abs that still left a few scars exposed, a long black cape, brown gloves, gray pants, black boots, and very muscular with pale skin and the usual red eyes that held power and charm behind them, looked around at the only three minions he had left. His eyes, lastly, fell upon his love, Scarlet, as he smiled at her.

"Medlock, my dark master, I've missed you so." Scarlet said with pleasure and delight.

"Ah, my precious Scarlet." He said as he stretched and cracked a few joints before making his way over to her.

"For centuries I've been kept safe, deep beneath the ground, waiting." He said as he lightly embraced her in a hug before pulling away and then resting a hand on her cheek. She lightly nuzzled into his hand as he continued.

"Waiting for this. The eve of my glorious triumph. Finally! The eternal night of the vampires is among us!" He shouted the last sentence with glee as he looked to the sky and rose a fist into the air. To Scarlet he was pure perfection. This night was perfect for her, perfect for them. Nothing could ruin it.

"Tomorrow night, on all Hallows Eve, the sun shall set and never rise again." Nye added with glee. Medlock turned to him with a smile.

"I'm very glad you are still around my son." He greeted Nye. Nye was the second oldest vampire next to Medlock. Nye had been alone for so long that when he was given the chance to be immortal and have a type of father to look up to he quickly accepted. Medlock was now 900 years old while Nye was 500. Nye was the reason Scarlet was a vampire. They met 300 years after he became a vampire and he's cared for her like a sister. Medlock found out of her, and the prophecy, and has wanted to have her for himself. When she lost her family Nye promised to be her family and brought her to meet his father. Medlock loved her beauty, redheads being a weakness, and soon claimed her as his.

"It has been ages." Nye replied with a toothy grin.

"The prophecy will come to pass, and with your guiding hand, vampires will rain over the darkness." Scarlet smiled wickedly as she walked over near Nye and the mystery vampire and grinned.

"That is, of course my dear Scarlet, if you have completed your task and taken care of 'The Ender'." He said with a gleeful smile. There it was. Scarlet's moment soon ended. Her perfect night had just gotten ruined by that sentence. Nye cackled as the master looked at him funny.

"Tell him! Tell him how there is another redhead and how both girls used the amulet! Tell him how you can't figure out which one is the ender! Tell him of the other two followers who got vanquished because of you! Because you liked a boy! Tell him all!" Nye shouted out as he cackled again. He knew her perfect moment was ruined and it was amusing to him to see her worry and squirm as she failed her lover.

"Shut up!" She shouted at him but he just howled in laughter.

"Enough!" Medlock shouted as the room suddenly became silent.

"Is this true?" Medlock asked her.

"Yes. But I won't fail this time." She told him as she was fueled with fire.

"Scarlet had her chance. Allow me the honor of both of them master." The mystery vampire asked without asking as Scarlet growled.

"And who says you should get _all_ the fun?" Nye suddenly chimed in. The vampire just glared at Nye.

"You only want to because of that red headed vixen Aria." He scowled as Nye chuckled.

"My charms have rendered her useless. She's fallen for my hypnotic tricks. I can turn her simply." Nye said nonchalantly as the vampire rolled his eyes.

"Alright. Both of you prove yourselves worthy of me. Nelnuse, You shall go after the raven haired one while Nye shall seek the red head. And what, pray tell, are there names my love?" He commanded them before asking Scarlet the names of both girls.

"Veronica Lodge for the raven haired and the red head is Aria Andrews." She told him with disdain. Not only was she not happy to exact her revenge on them and be embarrassed in front of her love like that but she hated the fact that Aria Andrews had fought her and distracted her while Veronica Lodge, the other she disdained, had nearly destroyed her.

"Well then, it looks like someone has a date with Miss Veronica Lodge while another has a date with Miss Aria Andrews." Medlock told them as the boys smiled at there master before turning into bats and flying off into the night. Nelnuse has arrived in front of the Lodge Mansion door and rang the bell to get her attention. Meanwhile Nye was flying to her house in hopes of finding Aria inside when he noticed her walking home all alone. He smiled with glee as he suddenly turned human, skin color and all, and started walking behind her. He was captivated by the lovely black dress she wore. It fit her body beautifully. Her hair was up but bounced with each step she took. Her natural scent attracted him as he hurried over to her. He had to be careful not to frighten her but he wanted to catch her before she could make it to her house. He drew closer and closer until he finally rested his hand on her shoulder from behind her.

*Rewind To That Morning Aria's POV*

I woke up in a cold sweat. I had that same vampire dream except I didn't have the stone with me. Another thing that changed was chased by a different vampire that looked similar to Nye. I took a few deep breaths before I climbed out of bed.

*My nightmares are getting worse. Why?* I thought as I decided to take a quick shower. It was Friday morning, day before Halloween, no school, Archie was off earlier to publish the article, and I had to work today and needed to get my paycheck anyhow. I got dressed in my uniform and went downstairs to grab a peach.

"Good morning." Uncle Fred greeted me.

"Good morning deary. How'd you sleep?" Aunt Mary greeted me and then asked about my sleep. I hope I wasn't waking them up because of my nightmares.

"Alright." I said as I bit into my peach.

"Don't tell me that's all you're eating." Uncle Fred asked as I nodded.

"Not that hungry." I said as I saw Allegro laying on the floor.

"Allegro wanna go for a walk?" I asked him. He wagged his tail but just laid there.

"You alright bud?" I asked as I went over to him. I bent down next to him and began to pet him. He gave a small whine as his tail wagged.

"Guess your not feeling well huh?" I asked as he laid there.

"Alright." I said as I got up.

"I'm off to work. " I said to them as I put on my boots and grabbed my bag.

"Be safe out there." Uncle Fred called out.

"No problem. Love you guys. Bye." I said as I walked out the door before I heard there response. I walked to Pop's and began working. He had me working all day, Archie came to check on me, Jughead Dilton ate lunch here and I served them food, I saw BE and chatted with her on my break, saw Moose and Midge on a date and gave them a sundae as my treat, and all in all had a good day. I finished my shift, around 7:30 pm, and got my money from Pops.

"You sure you don't wanna call Archie for a ride?" Pops asked me.

"I'll be fine. You sure you don't want me to stay till closing time?" I asked him I had began work at 8:30 am and worked a longer shift then usual since I had three work days off and took time off last week from the fight with Vinnie. Pops was going to keep the place open until 11pm so I was worried he would need help.

"I'll be alright, it's usually not that busy. Just have a safe trip home. And thanks for the idea of garlic burgers." Pops told me all of this as I smiled at him.

"No problem." I said with a smile as I got ready to leave.

'Splat'

I gasped at the sudden wet and sticky feeling all over me. I looked down at my normal clothes I had changed into and saw that I was now covered in food. Yuck.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry." I looked up to see a woman, no older than 30 perhaps, African American, with wavy black hair to her shoulders and dressed in a nice dress.

"It's fine. No worries." I told her with a smile as I held back my disgust of food on me.

"Aria?" I heard as I looked over and saw Tyrone right there in the same booth as the woman.

"Tyrone?" I asked as he suddenly sprung up and handed me a bunch of napkins.

"I'm so sorry." He said as I started cleaning myself off.

"It's fine." I said as I tried to get most of the food off me.

"Oh? You're Aria? My nephew has told me a lot about you. I'm glad to finally meet you. I'm so sorry about meeting you like this though." She said as she began to help me.

"Accidents happen." I said with a smile.

"I'm Darcy Fleece (Inspired her off of Tracy Reese. She was a struggling designer in the late 80's but became popular in 1998.), Tyrone's aunt, Very nice to meet you." She said as my eyes widened.

"Wait, Darcy Fleece, as in _the_ fashion designer Darcy Fleece?" I asked as I gawked. What? I couldn't help it. She made beautiful clothes filled with color to fit most to all women.

"Yes. I didn't realize you were a fan." She said with a smile.

"Are you kidding? I've seen your dresses back when I liven in New York City. But what are you doing here in Riverdale?" I said in excitement before I quieted down a bit.

"Well I came down here to see both my nephew and to see if I can sell some of my clothes here in the spring time." She explained to me as my jaw dropped.

"Tyrone, you never mentioned your aunt was a fashion designer." I said to him as he shrugged.

"Never really crossed my mind before." He said modestly.

"I feel so awful about this. Please, let me make it up to you." She said as I shook my head.

"It's quite alri-ah!" I started to say before she grabbed me and pulled me outside and to her car.

"Now I won't take no for an answer." She said as I looked over at Tyrone. He just smiled.

"No use fighting it." Tyrone told me as I sighed.

"Now you said you saw my stuff when you lived in New York City. Did you ever buy anything?" She asked me as we stopped in front of the trunk of her car so she could open it. When she did I saw many bagged hangers that most likely contained dresses she made and designed.

"Well, no. I couldn't afford them." I said bashfully as I looked away from her.

"Yes, I've noticed my stuff in the city _can_ be expensive. Ah! Here we go!" She was saying until she then found a bagged outfit she was looking for.

"I take it you like black?" She was telling me before she asked me that.

"I tend to yes." I said as she smiled.

"You have lovely skin color for this. Why don't you change into it and if it looks good then you can keep it." She said as I looked at her.

"A-alright." I said as I decided to go back inside and change into it. I got into the bathroom and stripped off my dirty clothes before pulling out the dress. My jaw dropped. It was a black dress that went to my knees. It was mid sleeve and a slim skirt but there was an outer skirt that flared out and the outer skirt and sleeves until the slight upper part of the dress, to reveal my cleavage, was a sheer/lace/fishnet type of see through fabric with black roses, stems, and leaves here and there. The bottom of the skirt, ends of the sleeves, the upper part of the dress, and the waist area had a black ribbon to top it off. I put it on and it looked and fit beautifully. I slowly walked out and showed them with a shy smile on my face.

"It looks perfect on you! What do you think?" Darcy complimented before she asked Tyrone.

"Oh, well, I-I think she-she looks, um, well, incredible." Tyrone said as he fumbled over his words on how to describe it. I blushed a deep shade of red at this. I then heard a flirty whistle.

"Is she a model?" I heard someone ask.

"She's pretty enough, wait. I think that's the waitress." I heard again.

"No way, Aria Andrews?" I heard the whispers as I looked over at a table filled with teen boys in football uniforms.

"Dude! She's looking! Act casual!" One yelped out quietly as they went back to eating and not looking.

"Seems you're going to be even more popular with the boys." Darcy commented as I blushed.

"Ha! Her boyfriends already have a hard time keeping guys away from her." Tyrone commented as I blushed.

"Do you like the dress Aria?" She asked as I looked at her and smiled another shy smile.

"I think this is one of the most gorgeous dresses I've ever seen in my life." I commented honestly.

"Then it's yours." She said as I gawked.

"Nonono. I can't just keep this." I told her but she held up her hand.

"It's alright. I think it looks better on you then it would on the Lodge's daughter." She said as I paled.

"Veronica Lodge! Then I _definitely_ can't keep this. She'd throw a fit." I explained as I tried to refuse it.

"It's fine! I had something else in mind for her anyways. You keep it as an apology. Plus you can show it off before my spring collection hits Riverdale. Just think of it as a favor to me as well." She said with a wink. I didn't know what to say.

"Th-thank you." I stuttered out.

"Not a problem. Oh my! I need to go! I'm already late enough to the charity dinner as it is. Do you need a ride home?" She asked me.

"I'll be fine. Thank you though. I'll see you tomorrow Tyrone." I commented with a smile as we walked outside together.

"See you tomorrow." He said as we then went our separate ways. It was already dark and I felt a little creeped out. I tried to play it off as close to Halloween but something just didn't feel right. I was getting closer to home when I heard footsteps right behind me. At first I thought it was someone going the same way as me but when I got closer to home the footsteps seemed to get closer. I started to hurry when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I lightly shrieked and turned around, ready to defend myself, when I saw a familiar face.

"Nye?" I questioned. What was he doing out here?

"Sorry to scare you love." He said as I calmed down a bit.

"What are you doing out here?" I asked him.

"I should be saying the same to you. Don't you know a young lady should never walk home alone? And especially a beautiful one in a lovely dress?" He asked me as I blushed lightly.

"I can defend myself." I said to him as I shyly looked away.

"There's no doubt in my mind you couldn't, but please, allow me to escort you home." He said in a gentleman like way.

"It's alright, It's only another four blocks." I said to him. It really was.

"It wouldn't be any trouble." He said as I looked at him. I was going to protest but then I looked in his eyes. I felt hypnotized again.

"Please? Say yes." He said as I looked deep within his eyes.

"Y-yes. That would be nice." I said to him for some reason as he smiled. He walked next to me and offered me his arm. I took hold of it as we began walking. What was wrong with me?

"I'm so glad you changed your mind love, I wouldn't want a lovely creature such as yourself to get hurt." He told me as I held on to his arm tighter, thinking back to Vinnie jumping me.

"By the feel of your grip it seems that's already happened." He commented as I sighed.

"Just an annoying guy who thinks he owns me. He gets mad when I tell him no and a friend beat him up for me before he could hurt me. I guess that peeved him off since he jumped me and used an iron bar to beat me." I explained to him.

"How awful. Is that why you had that metal thing on your nose yesterday." He asked me as I remembered yesterday.

"Yeah." I said as I suddenly remembered something. Yesterday. The day he showed up so did Scarlet. I felt my blood run cold.

*Flashback*

" _I had been told that there were cousins with orange hair who write these articles and, since my friend Scarlet is talking to him, that makes you Aria."_

 _"_ _I don't wish to be a bother. My name's Nye, Nye Belmont. Scarlet and I just transferred here from Redlands."_

*End Flashback*

I remembered Betty and Veronica told me about how she used to go there 200 years ago.

*If that's true and this was over 200 years ago…...Oh no. I'm in trouble! Calm down. Talk your way out of this. If I look him in the eyes he'll hypnotize me. That's what keeps happening to me.* I thought to myself as I calmed down.

Two blocks away.

"I can walk alone from here." I said as I pulled away fro him.

"Allow me, please." He started as I avoided eye contact with him.

"It's fine. I can manage." I said as I started walking.

"Didn't you say you would be willing to talk to me whenever I wanted? Tonight more specifically?" He asked me as I avoided his eyes.

"Sorry, my boyfriends will get severally jealous about this." I told him as I tried to leave again.

"Why do you avoid me?" He asked me suddenly.

"No reason. Just rather be alone is all." I said as I continued.

One block away.

"Is it because you are afraid of me?" He asked me as I continued with a quicker pace. I had to hurry.

"Sorry. It's late and I need to go home." I told him.

3 houses away.

"I'm afraid you can't go home." He said as I stopped in my tracks.

"Why not?" I asked him.

"Because I know you've just figured out I'm a vampire my dear. You or Veronica is the ender and we can't have you walking around and trying to stop us." He said as I went wide eyed in fear.

"Are you going to kill us?" I asked him.

"No. No, not a pretty little thing like you." I heard him say as I felt him playing with my hair. I then realized what he was going to do. He was going to turn us. I bolted. I ran past my house and headed to Veronica's. I could hear Nye laughing as I jumped a few fences. I soon found the woods and ran in there. I hope Archie wasn't late for his date with her. I had to find the amulet. I know she listened and hid it in one of her shoe boxes. I don't know which one though.

"You can't hide from me Aria. I can smell your sweet scent. It's delicious." I heard him say as I ran as fast as I could. I made it to the streets and started to get tired.

*Have to hurry.* I thought as I pushed myself harder. That's when I saw a figure jump out in front of me.

A vampire that looked like…..

"Veronica?" I gasped out as I stopped.

"It's Vampronica now." She said as I started shaking.

"Archie? What-" I started to ask before she interrupted me.

"He was late so he's unharmed. But now it's your turn to join us." She said as I backed up. I turned to run but slammed into something. no. some _one._ I saw a vampire I had never seen before as my eyes widened.

"Meet my new friend Nelnuse." She said and before I could react I felt him grab my wrist and bite my exposed arm. I shrieked as I felt all my blood drain quickly from my body. I felt a burning sensation under my skin before I felt cold. I opened my eyes and saw my skin had gone pale. I knew my eyes were red and I could feel other changes like the long claws and my hair being spiked and ruffled. My senses had heightened and I felt amazing. I felt the change in my personality. I had become a teenage vampire.

"Not fair Nelnuse. She was supposed to be mine." I heard Nye's voice as I looked over at him. With the pale skin and red eyes he looked so…attractive.

"Not my fault you couldn't keep an eye on her." The vampire, Nelnuse, said before he released me.

"Feels good doesn't it Aria?" Veronica, I mean, Vampronica asked me as I turned and looked right at her.

"It's VampAria now sweetie and, yes, it actually does." I said as I smiled at her. I could feel the fangs I know had.

"VampAria….The name fits your eternal beauty more so." I heard Nye say as I turned to him and smiled a flirtatious smile his way.

"Who knew you would look hotter as a vampire?" I said seductively while walking over to him and wrapped my arms around his arm, cuddling closer to him. Nye smiled back.

"I like this you better." He admitted.

"We must go bring them to the master." Nelnuse said as he took Vampronica's hand. Nye had me release his arm and hold his hand instead.

"Imagine being a bat and concentrate." Nye whispered as I nodded. I closed my eyes and felt myself levitating. I then felt myself become small and light and when I opened my eyes I was in the air, flying as a bat like I had imagined myself to be, as Vampronica and I followed the boys all the way to their layer. An abandoned mansion. I remembered passing this place once. It was secluded and in the country area. No one bothered to buy it nor clean it up. Perfect for the vampires. We flew in through an open window and made our way to the bottom of the stairs. Vampronica and I transformed back to our human forms and held the boys in our hands, Nelnuse in her right hand and Nye in my left. We darted through the shadows and soon appeared behind a female vampire, who looked oddly familiar, and a muscular male vampire that we figured was the master. He saw us and shoved the girl aside to get a better view at us. We, seductively, walked forward into the candle light to reveal ourselves to him. He looked a bit shocked to see us standing there. We looked at each other and nodded before lifting her right and my left hands out and blew on it. We had a lavender mist circle our hands before we opened them to reveal the the bat we each held. The bats flew from our hands and over to the master. Nelnuse landed on the barrels and morphed while Nye landed in front of the pillars and morphed so he was leaning against them in a cool manner.

"I present Veronica Lodge and Aria Andrews. One possibly the chosen one, now vampires, bitten by me, in service of our master, Medlock." Nelnuse said as I heard Nye growl a bit. He must be sore that he didn't get to turn me.

"Well done Nelnuse. With the ender turned, nothing can stop us now. Nye, I'm surprised. You were supposed to turn one." The master, Medlock, said as Nye growled again.

"She ran and I chased her. Nelnuse got her before I could. She was supposed to be mine." He said as he growled the last part.

"Not my fault you're slow." Nelnuse teased him.

"I was toying with her. I wouldn't let her go far. I just wanted to see how far she could run before becoming tired." Nye defended himself.

"Enough. We have guests after all." Medlock said to them as Vampronica floated over to his side.

"Welcome to the fold, my child." He said to Vampronica before he looked back at me.

"And too you as well y other child." He said as he held out his other hand towards me.

"I can see why _you're_ the master." Vampronica flirted as he got nervous. I chuckled lightly at the sight. Before I had a chance to go and grab Medlock's hand the woman he was holding earlier shoved Vampronica away from Medlock.

"So we meet again Veronica!" She said.

"Scarlet?! But I saw you turn to mist. You were on top of me when it happened!" I shrieked out in surprise. I thought that redheaded woman looked familiar.

"Well I hate to disappoint you two but I'm still around girlies." She said before she growled defensively at us. I understood why. She loved Medlock. But by the way he's looking at us, mostly Vampronica, he has stopped loving her and had now found new, and younger, women to be attracted to. He was the master after all. Any woman he wants, he gets. Soon Scarlet and Vampronica started growling and I got mad. I put Vampronica behind me and growled loudly at Scarlet.

"I will attack you again, and this time, I'm stronger." I told her as I growled again. She got in my face and growled as well before Medlock stepped between us and split us apart.

"Now Scarlet, that's no way to treat our, beautiful, new friends." He said as he and Vampronica cuddled close. I growled at Scarlet one more time before I was pulled into Medlock's other arm and guided away from her.

"I never thought the ender and her friend would be so, alluring." He said as he tried to charm us. It worked more for Vampronica than it did me. I was only following because he was our master.

"Oh Medlock, I didn't know a _vampire_ could be such a _gentleman."_ Vampronica said in a flirtatious way.

"I did." I said as I thought of Nye. Now that I'm VampAria I've become less attracted to Jughead and Dilton and a lot more attracted to Nye. Maybe if they turned I would be slightly attracted to them again.

"Medlock!" I heard Scarlet yell in anger from behind us. Man was she mad. Medlock turned to her and frowned.

"Not now Scarlet, I want to give Miss Lodge and Miss Andrews a tour of their new home." He told her before turning around and guided us to the chuckled as I looked back at a very angry looking Nye. My steps slowed a bit.

"Do not fret my dear, you will see him again shortly." Medlock assured me, after seeing me look at Nye, before having me, once again, follow him.

"Now I've heard one of you has a very special trinket. The sun stone." Medlock said as he took us out of ear shot of the room we were in and into a hallway.

"Veronica, excuse me, _Vamp_ ronica has it hidden in one of her shoe boxes in her closet. I was on my way to get it and check on her before I was turned." I casually told Medlock with a small shrug.

"Ah, I see." He said as he then looked at Vampronica.

"Vampronica. Hm. Inetersting. I like it." He said as he complimented her.

"And did you change your name as well?" He asked me.

"I've gone from Aria to VampAria." I told him. I then felt my chin get lifted up to look at him. Wow his red eyes were alluring like Nye's.

"VampAira. How creative. A perfect ring to it." He said as I felt myself get embarrassed. I'd be blushing if I had blood. Vampronica growled slightly as I looked at her. Was she seriously getting jealous?

"May I please go back to Nye?" I asked Medlock since I suddenly felt uncomfortable.

"You like him?" He asked me in what sounded to me like he was skeptical. I felt embarrassed as I nodded. He was now stroking my wild hair to comfort me.

"After we get the amulet and we have eternal night you have my blessing to be his." Medlock suddenly said as I looked up at him. I smiled a wild and seductive smile that matched the look in my eyes.

"Then I get Medlock to myself." Vampronica added as I laughed a hearty laugh. We then flew off into the night to find the amulet in Vampronica's home. I then thought about it.

"How do we get inside? Don't vampires need to be invited in?" I suddenly asked.

"Leave that to me." Vampronica said as we got to her home. She then pulled out a cellphone from the purse she had dropped outside and called her father. She asked if she could have permission to have me inside. When he gave me permission I was able to walk inside and give them permission to enter. Man she was smart when need be. We went to her room and saw Betty looking through the shoe boxes.

"I found it!" She suddenly shouted as we appeared behind her.

"It's very rude to go through Vampronica's closet without her permission." I said in a chilling tone. Betty turned around and saw the three of us. She gasped in fright at the sight of us.

"She's right Betty." Vampronica replied with a bone chilling voice. Betty was now scared and in shock over us being vampires and with our master. Betty tried to bolt out the door but I quickly blocked her path.

"Ah ah ah. Not without the stone Goldie Locks." I said as I tried to snatch the stone from her. She bolted away from me before I could grab it. She was now cornered.

"It's mine! Give to me!" Veronica said as she approached Betty filled with rage. She and Betty began to fight for it when Betty tossed her onto the bed and tried to run.

"Oh no you don't!" I yelled as I tackled her. She tried to fight back but I kicked her into the wall, hard. She hit it with a very loud thud before sliding down. I smiled triumphantly as I looked at Vampronica.

"All yours." I said as I gestured to the necklace. She smiled and thanked me as she went over and took it.

"My what strength you have." Medlock complimented me as I smiled flirtatiously at him.

"Thank you master." I said with a small bow as Vampronica laughed while holding the stone. I then felt weird. I became light headed all of a sudden. Then I felt cold liquid pump through my veins slowly before it sped up. As it sped up I felt it get boiling hot for a bit before becoming Luke warm. I closed my eyes before I opened them again. My senses were now a normal level and I felt like my old self again. I had become human. The vampire that bit me must've been killed. Archie!

"What happened." Veronica said as I backed up towards her.

"We're human now. Archie must've killed Nelnuse, returning us back to humans. Quick! The sun stone." I said as I held up her wrist to reveal the sun stone towards Medlock.

"Cross of silver, Ray of light, In the ender's hand will end eternal night!" We both shouted towards Medlock. The stone then shined like the sun and hit him with the rays. He then aged into an old, weak and toothless vampire as the sun stone shattered.

"Medlock!" We heard behind us. We looked to see Scarlet, in shock, as she saw the sight before her. She ran to his aid. Betty got up and went over to us.

"Betty! Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" I said as I lightly hugged her and apologized to her. Then Archie, Reggie, and Jughead came in.

"Oh Archie! My hero! For once you're right on time!" Veronica said to him.

"Hey! We helped too!" Reggie said to her.

"Jughead!" I yelped out as I ran and tackled him in a hug.

"Your my hero yet again!" I said as I kissed him on the lips.

"Hey! Didn't you hear me?" Reggie said to us.

"Let them have the moment." Betty told Reggie as he sighed. I pulled away and looked at Scarlet. All she wanted to do was love Medlock, even when he betrayed her. She was still willing to be by his side. I looked at Scarlet before deciding to let them pass. Jughead then saw them walking away.

"Don't worry about these two! I've got one more garlic burger to spare." Jughead said as he pulled the burger out of his bag. I then put my hand over his that held the burger and stopped him.

"Leave them be. They won't bother anyone anymore. Let Scarlet take care of the man she loves." I said as he stopped and then put the burger away.

"Alright. Only for you though." He said with a smile as I smiled back. We then decided to leave, after cleaning up Veronica's room, and left to take everyone home. After we dropped Reggie off I looked at Jughead.

"Jughead. I'm sorry." I told him all of a sudden.

"Huh? Why are you apologizing to me?" He asked me as I looked at him with sad puppy eyes.

"I was unfaithful to you and Dilton. While I was a vampire I stopped being attracted to you two and became attracted to Nye, especially when he was a vampire. I wasn't in control of myself and now that I am I feel so horrible." I said as I felt my eyes begin to water. I didn't want to cry over this.

"Hey, don't cry. You weren't yourself. I'm not mad, not at all." Jughead told me as he pulled me close to him to comfort me.

"Really?" I asked innocently. I was shocked he was willing to forgive me.

"Yeah." He said as I blinked the watery eyes away. He lightly kissed my lips. I was about to kiss back when we felt a sudden jerk. Jughead and I flew forward a bit as I glared at Archie. I know he did that on purpose. After saying goodnight to Jughead we drove Betty home and then went inside. We didn't hesitate to start the article from both our points of view, even the feel of being a vampire and how it can change you.

"With the sun stone gone, and the master a withered ghoul, the vampires are no longer a threat. ~Archie. Scarlet loved Medlock just the same and kept her word to take care of him, even though he _was_ old and toothless. As for Archie, I'm sure he's learned his lesson on keeping a promise. Right? ~Aria. Yes, yes I did. I almost lost Veronica that night because I broke one little promise. You, on the other hand, should've listened and asked someone for a ride home. ~Archie. Alright alright. Next time it's dark I'll call for a ride. Promise. Happy? ~Aria. Yes. Now you can make sure this is one boy who, from now on, will keep his word, and his super sacred word. ~Archie. …..In a little town called Riverdale! ~Archie and Aria."

I made sure everything was fine as Archie saved. That's when I remembered something. My clothes.

"Gak! My clothes! They need to be washed!" I yelled out in a panic as I rushed downstairs and grabbed my bag. I pulled out my clothes and headed to the washer. I poured club soda all over the stains and hand washed it before tossing it in the dryer.

"I hope it comes out." I muttered as I started the wash. Needless to say, after 3 washes, the stains came out. Thank goodness. After I tossed my clothes in the dryer I headed off to bed.


	38. Chapter 37

**OKAY GUYS! I'M GOING ON VACATION NEXT WEEK SO HERE'S NEXT WEEK'S CHAPTER! IF YOUR LUCKY AND I'M ABLE TO THEN YOU MIGHT GET ONE MORE THIS WEEK! ENJOY! BTW, THE REASON NYE HAS THE LAST NAME BELMONT IS BECAUSE, LIKE SCARLET HAVING THE LAST NAME HELSING IN HONOR OF VAMPIRE HUNTER VAN HELSING WHO KILLS DRACULA, BELMONT IS A CHARACTER WHO, ALSO, HUNTS AND KILLS DRACULA...CLEVER HUH?  
**

Chapter 37: Halloween Of Horror!

*Third POV*

It was now the evening of Halloween. When Scarlet had brought Medlock back Nye had grown furious. He, just like Scarlet, remained loyal to Medlock and promised to help care for him. Scarlet was now caring for Medlock while Nye went to fetch a small bowl of water and a cloth to help clean his face.

"Oh master. It pains me to see you like this." Scarlet confessed sweetly yet sadly to her lover. She felt horrible that she didn't get to him sooner. She was, however, satisfied that, not only Veronica and Aria wouldn't get in her way with him again but, the sun stone was destroyed. Medlock looked at her s he was filled with sadness and shame.

"I am no longer the powerful vampire you once knew. I know why Nye has not abandoned me but why haven't you?" Medlock asked her. Scarlet was a bit shocked that he would ask her something like that.

"Because I love you Medlock." She said as she then smiled and brought her hand to his cheek to rest on. She truly did love him. She swore her eternal loyalty to him, not just as a vampire, but as a lover too.

"I only wish I could reform you to your former glory." Scarlet added in. Medlock then smiled lightly. He had a wickedly awful idea. An idea that would make him powerful again, but at a price. Betrayal.

"Ah, but you can my loyal subject. You can." Medlock said with glowing eyes. He rose and had her rise with him. He rested his hands on her shoulder and then gave a wicked smile. That's when it happened. He used his energy to form rays from is eyes and right into Scarlet's. She then felt herself become weak, aging even, while Medlock regained his strength and power. Scarlet was a young enough vampire to where he could become is normal age, with all his power, and not have to use multiple vampires and still keep his loyal Nye at his age.

"What-what's happening?" She asked as her life force was being drained.

"I'm draining you of your precious life force, stealing your youth." He explained as he went from old to young, as did his voice. Once he was himself he let Scarlet go and began to walk away from her, leaving her old.

"So I can regain mine." He said.

"Scarlet, I got the-" Nye started to say before he spotted an old Scarlet and a back to normal master.

"I-I feel so...Weak." Scarlet gasped out in an old woman's voice. Nye dropped the bowl and ran over to her.

"What have you done?" Nye whispered as he looked at Scarlet before glaring at Merlock.

"What have you done?!" He yelled at Medlock. Medlock turned his head to face him and gave him a cold look.

"I have used her life force to regain mine. And now to claim my destiny as ruler of the eternal night of the vampires." He exclaimed as he smiled before starting to laugh.

"You dare betray the woman who loved you most? The woman who I view as my sister?" He questioned in shock. To other vampires, yes he has, but why to Scarlet? She had done nothing but love him.

"It doesn't matter, she is not worth my time anymore." Medlock said simply as he faced away from them.

"Keep her here, She'll only get in the way." Medlock commanded as Nye just glared at him. Medlock then took his leave. Once he did Nye looked at Scarlet with sorrow.

"I'm so sorry Scarlet. I never should've left you alone with him had I known what he planned." Nye said as a tear fell down his cheek. He always did love Scarlet, but as a sister, and now she had her heart broken and betrayed by the only man she ever loved. Scarlet looked down with anger and sadness in her eyes.

"Show me where Veronica Lodge's home is. We have to get there before Medlock and warn those teens." He said as she then looked up at him in shock.

"You would dare betray Medlock for me?" She asked him.

"Of course. He hurt you, my sister, the only one who had seen me for me. You were there for me and now I wish to return the favor." He said to her as he lightly smiled at her. She then smiled back and nodded her head. Nye soon found a cane for her and, together, flew as fast as they could, into the night, to warn the teens of Medlocks return.

*Aria's POV*

This had been a very busy day. First I was up and down all night feeling a bit sick and having horrendous nightmares, then I slept until 1pm, I had rushed to completely finish Jughead's costume before he arrived and I still had to dress in my costume and I even had some fake flowers to add in my hair. After I did all that Jughead came over and I surprised him with the costume. I got him ready and he looked like an actual deer man. I used a spandex suit, with a built in cup, and made sure it was comfortable for him. I had also blushed when I saw the small muscles he had. Anyways, Archie dressed up in his metal suit he still kept from the virtual world so he could be a galactic bounty hunter. Now, after the sun had set and me trick or treating with Jughead for a while, we arrived at Veronica's party and I had this awful feeling that something bad was going to happen.

"Will you relax, nothing bad will happen." Archie assured me as he rang the doorbell.

"I don't know Arch, I just feel like something big and bad will happen is all." I said as I grew worried.

"What's there to worry about?" Archie asked. Before I could answer a clown answered the door. It was Smithers. I tried so hard not to laugh at the not-so-smiling clown.

"Trick or treat!" We shouted out. Smithers didn't smile as he just looked at us. Was this guy _ever_ happy? Probably when he's on vacation and away from Veronica.

"How clever." Smithers said in a monotone voice. Poor guy must be miserable.

"Actually, were here for the party." Archie commented while holding up his squirt gun. I smacked my forehead. I swear, sometimes, Archie was dense.

"You don't say." Smithers commented in a sarcastic monotone voice. At least someone gets it.

"And what are you supposed to be?" He asked us in a slightly grouchy tone. Personally, I don't blame him.

"I'm one of Santa's reindeer. Bet you can't guess which one." Jughead said as he booped Smithers' clown nose. I giggled at his childish antics. How could I not love him?

"Come on Jughead, let's check out the spread." Archie said while wrapping his arm around Jughead's shoulder and walked inside. I just shook my head. I then walked up to Smithers and pulled out a candy bar for him, more specifically, a Baby Ruth bar. I don't like them but I know Smithers does.

"Here you go Smithers. Happy Halloween and thanks for putting up with us." I said kindly with a big bright smile.

"Thank you Miss Andrews." He thanked me as he took the candy bar from me.

"If you insist on being formal then Miss Aria, please." I said to him. I didn't like to be called Miss Andrews often.

"Of course Miss Aria. Have a nice time." He said as he let me inside.

"Try to smile more. It's better than a frown." I commented as I walked inside to the party. As soon as I did, I got jumped by Geoff in a huge hug.

"There you are!" Geoff commented as we nearly fell over.

"Geoff, get off her! Honestly, you're worse than a dog." I heard Ronin scold as Geoff let me go. I saw the costumes and smiled. Geoff was dressed as a pirate while Ronin was dressed as a ninja.

"Wow! Love the costumes!" I complimented them. "Thanks! You already know Jimmy is a devil, Tyler's a cop, Collins' an astronaut, and Tyrone's a zombie." Geoff told me as I smiled. I looked around and soon spotted them. I once they saw me they waved and I waved back.

"I'm going to go say hi to Dilton before heading into the tent." I commented as I bid them farewell and searched for my scientist. I soon found him snuck up on him. Once I got close enough I covered his eyes with my hands.

"Huh?" He questioned as I leaned in close to his ear.

"Trick or treat my sweet." I whispered lightly in his ear. I had explained to him about what had happened and, although he doesn't really believe too much of the vampire story, he had forgiven me. Just not as easily as Jughead though.

"Greetings Aria." He said as I removed my hands from his eyes and wrapped my arms around his shoulders in a light hug. He then spun around and lightly wrapped his arms around my waist.

"You look very lovely." Dilton complimented me as I smiled with pink tinted cheeks. I then heard a growl.

"You didn't eat today did you?" Dilton asked me as I blushed harder.

"Forgot." I said sheepishly. Dilton shook his head but smiled. He then guided me over to the food table. I then heard a snarling growl next to me.

"Hi Reggie." I said in a monotone voice without flinching. Good news was I was done being scared of werewolves.

"Aw man." I heard Reggie whined before wondering off somewhere else. I then saw Archie and Betty heading to the tent.

"Can we meet here in 20 minutes?" I asked Dilton. He looked at where I was looking before he looked back at me.

"Sure." He replied. I smiled and kissed his cheek before walking over to my cousin.

"Is Veronica the fortune teller? Because if so, then everyone's future involves buying her expensive gifts this Christmas." I said as Archie stared at me while saying huh.

"You're right actually." Betty giggled out. I looked and it seemed she wasn't here. How disappointing.

"I'll tell you your future." We heard. I looked over and saw an old woman, practically skin and bones, wearing an oddly familiar purple outfit, gray frizzy hair with an orange streak in the front and using a cane to walk. Archie commented on Veronica's costume but I had a feeling this wasn't Veronica.

"Archie!" I yelped out as I came to a sudden realization.

"This isn't Veronica! She'd never dress old to ruin her looks." I said as both Betty and Archie looked at me. I stepped closer to the woman.

"Scarlet?" I asked her.

"Yes." She wheezed out. I gasped and covered my mouth with both my hands.

"What happened to you?" I whispered out.

"Medlock betrayed her and has now become youthful." I heard a voice as it drew closer to me.

"Nye?" I whispered as I peaked over to him. He remained the same. He walked over until he was next to Scarlet.

"Oh Archie-kins. When did you get here?" I heard Veronica say as I saw her cling onto Archie.

"So tonight, unless we stop Medlock, the prophecy will continue?" I asked as Scarlet nodded. Veronica then noticed Scarlet and Nye.

"Scarlet?" She gasped out as I ignored her.

"How do we stop him? The sun stone has shattered." I asked and then reminded them all.

"All is lost once Medlock befriends the chosen one." She said as she looked down in sadness. I felt my heart break. I went over and hugged her gently.

"You loved him and he betrayed you. You stuck by the wrong person. It's not your fault at all." I comforted her.

"She has me now and I won't let Medlock hurt her again. I've cut all ties to Medlock, he is no longer my master. Scarlet has been like a sister to me for so long and I will continue to help her." Nye said as I looked at him. I wanted to punch him for trying to turn me and make me fall for him but I couldn't. He showed true sadness in his eyes. He loved Scarlet.

"I'm glad she has someone like you on her side." I said to him with a straight face. He wasn't trying to hypnotize me so he showed no interest in harming me or anyone here. I then had a horrible realization.

"Veronica! You gotta stop Smithers from inviting Medlock inside! If he's on his way then he'll trick his way in! Smithers doesn't know! He most likely let these two in!" I said in a panic as they all realized what I concluded.

"Smithers!" All three shouted in a panic. This wasn't good.

"The only to stop him is to not let him get Veronica and Aria. We still have no idea which is the chosen one so keep both away from him." Nye stated as I went wide eyed. For once I'd like to not be in the middle of something. I then remembered another thing.

"Jughead! Dilton! Oh no! I need to warn them!" I said in fear as I bolted right past them and ran to find Jughead and Dilton. If anything happens to them then I'd feel responsible. After all, _I_ was the one who was willing to let them go and thought they'd be no harm. I soon found Jughead by the food tables.

"Jughead!" I yelled out to him. He looked at me with a smile but then frowned when he saw my scared face.

"Medlock's back! He's stronger and we're all in danger!" I exclaimed as he gasped and dropped his plate of burgers.

"I'll protect you!" He told me in a braveish manner.

"No! Find Archie! Get him to use the water guns in the prize area and fill them with water and garlic powder! I need to find and warn Dilton!" I exclaimed as I now feared for Dilton.

"But-" He started when we suddenly heard Archie talking about the vampires and everyone laughing.

"No time. Please Jughead, do as I ask." I told him as I then kissed his cheek before running to find Dilton. Veronica then yelled at everyone to get out and now I was stuck in a small stampede.

"Dilton!" I shouted. I shouted his name over and over but no reply. Now the place was empty and I saw no one in sight, not even the girls nor the boys. I was then encountered by a floating…Reggie? I gasped as she smiled at me.

"Hey Doll Face. Wanna grab a bite?" He asked as he showed me his fangs and drew closer to me.

"No way!" I yelled at him before I lifted up my dress to my knees and kicked him hard enough to fly backwards. I made a run for it. I slipped under the table to hide. I couldn't fight in this dress.

"Aria?" I heard a whisper. I looked and saw Dilton close by. I slowly and quietly crawled over to him and hugged him.

"I was so scared. I couldn't find you and I thought that Madlock got to you like he did Reggie." I whispered quickly as I held in a sob. He held me close to him in a protective and comforting manner.

"I should've believed you. I'm sorry. I won't let them hurt you though." He whispered comfortingly in my ear as I began to calm down. I couldn't hear much except a few screams and some things smashing.

"Jughead's still out there." I whispered to him as he held me tighter.

"If what you told me is true then I need to keep you safe." He told me. Before I could argue I heard….silence.

"Do you think it's safe?" I whispered to him.

"I don't know. I'll check, stay here." He told me. I obeyed and stayed put. He struggled to get out but when he did.

"Wah!" He yelled out.

"Dilton?" I then heard Veronica's voice.

"I, um, saw vampires." Dilton said after he got out from under the table.

"Aria, it's safe." Dilton said as I crawled out.

"Aria!" I heard before I was engulfed in a hug.

"I was so worried!" Jughead exclaimed.

"Can't breathe." I wheezed out.

"Sorry." He said as he let me go. I then noticed something.

"Where's Betty and Archie?" I asked them.

"Betty got bit and they kidnapped Archie-kins." Veronica said as I gasped.

"That's it! I'm going to end this!" I said as I took the garlic water filled water gun from Jughead, judging how there is only one he didn't have time to go through with my earlier plan, and got ready to leave. My blood was boiling now.

"Calm down. You can't just go marching in there without a plan." Jughead told me in an effort to calm me down.

"Scarlet! Are they back at that hideout?" I asked her as my anger was still there.

"Don't you see? If you go there than Medlock will turn you both into vampires. If he does that then he wins, don't you understand?" She exclaimed to me.

"We can't just sit around and wait for the sun to rise. Especially since no sunlight is able to enter through the blocked windows. I need to save Archie! We need to save our friends! Friends don't abandon one another nor betray their trust! Not everyone is like Medlock and, if we do nothing then, we're just as bad as him." I explained to her.

"Aria's correct. We need to try." Dilton agreed with me 100%.

"What Medlock did to you was wrong." Veronica said to her.

"Scarlet, Nye, we need your help. Please. I wouldn't be asking if it wasn't needed. Please? Won't you be our friends and help us stop him before more harm can happen?" I asked them with pleading eyes. Nye's eyes widened in shock while Scarlet, also in shock, just stared at us.

"You'll never win, but I'll help you try." Scarlet said as I smiled at her.

"If Scarlet's helping then so will I. I will not abandon her like Medlock did." Nye said with closed eyes.

"Thank you." I said to them as Nye opened his eyes and looked at me.

"How am I going to say no to a delicious, I mean, a friend." Nye said as he corrected himself from calling me something more than delicious. We then came up with a plan and, before we knew it, I used Archie's car to drive us, as best as I could, as close to the mansion as we could get before parking it and walking the rest of the way. We each had a squirt gun filled with garlic water. The plan was simple really. Find Archie, Distract the vampires as long as we can, don't let Veronica nor myself get bit, than, while Nye breaks off the boards on the outside, Scarlet will open the curtains and shine the sunlight inside. Easier said than done and we all knew that! The good thing was, by the time we reached it, we had about one hour until sunrise. We busted down the doors, water guns loaded, and set the plan in motion. Scarlet didn't need permission to enter here, no vampire did, because this was a place where all vampires are welcomed. I saw Archie in a chair and rushed over to him.

"Archie?" I called out questioningly. As I went to shake him I suddenly had a very bad feeling. Man did I hate it when I'm right with my logic and feelings. He then opened his eyes and looked at me with a smile. His skin was pale, his eyes were red and he showed off his fangs.

"Hey there cousin." He hissed out as I yelped and jump back. I heard Dilton say uh oh as I sprayed Archie with the water. He soon started itching.

"That's a double decker uh oh, with cheese on top!" Jughead said as I looked up. Oh fig newton. Smithers, Betty, Reggie, and Medlock had been floating above us before descending down to our level. Jughead screamed as he sprayed Betty. I sprayed Reggie and Veronica sprayed Smithers to keep him away. The scratching didn't last long though. I then backed up to Jughead after I saw Reggie swooped down at him and knock his water gun away.

"You alright?" I asked. I didn't get a response.

"Jughead-" I started but when I turned my head I saw Medlock had finished turning him.

"No!" I shrieked as I backed up and aimed my gun at them.

"Woah!" I heard Dilton shout. I looked over to see Reggie bite him.

"No!" I shrieked out again as I sprayed Reggie and Dilton. Now it was just me and Veronica. We both ended up being backed up into a wall as we used the last of the garlic water. I hope the sun was out now. I tried to shield Veronica and fight them off but, in the end, we both were bitten and turned.

"Say hello to your old friend, Vampronica." She said after standing up and than throwing the medallion off her neck. I stood up as well and smiled at them.

"And your other old friend, VampAria!" I exclaimed with wicked delight. Medlock became joyful over this and spoke about ruling the eternal night and how the sun will never rise again but then something happened. The sun, it was rising. Medlock hurried to close the doors to shield us from the sun.

"How can this be? I have befriended the chosen one. The sun _can't_ rise unless-" Medlock started to say before being interrupted.

" _Unless_ you were mistaken." Nye said as he helped bring Scarlet over to him.

"Unless Veronica Lodge and Aria Andrews were never the ender to begin with." Scarlet added as she held the tossed medallion in the opposite hand that held her cane.

"Scarlet?" Medlock asked in skeptic shock.

"You could've ruled with me by your side, but you used me Medlock. You abandoned your most loyal friend." She said in anger as her and Nye rose up to the curtains.

"In betraying her you also betrayed me. I can never forgive you for that." Nye said as he glared at Medlock.

" _My_ Scarlet Helsing, is the chosen one? The ender?" Medlock asked in shock.

"I've got new friends now Medlock, along with an old one who stayed loyal to me over you. Friends that understand loyalty. Friends that stick by their friends." She exclaimed as she then held the cross in front of her. Medlock looked so humiliated.

"Cross of Silver,

Ray of light,

In ender's hand will end the night."

She chanted as Nye ripped the curtains down to reveal the sun as it shined upon the vulnerable and humiliated Medlock.

"No!~" Medlock exasperated in fear as the rays of light shined brightly. All of us then turned human again and watched as Medlock turned to dust before our eyes. Scarlet and Nye landed in front of Veronica and myself.

"Raven and red upon their heads,

Destiny awakens,

One girl is the ender while another two are mistaken."

Scarlet chanted to us.

"It was you all along, not me. It was you who ended the eternal night." Veronica said with a smile.

"I honestly thought it was Veronica since you and I are redheads. But it was you who ended up saving us all." I confessed to Scarlet.

"No, it was you all who saved me. I never would've realized my destiny if it hadn't been for your friendship." She said as she smiled at us.

"Thanks to you, the both of us are finally free." Nye said as Scarlet hugged Veronica and myself. Then, surprisingly, Nye did as well. They both pulled away and held each other's hand as they stepped into the light. Scarlet returned to her young self before both became ghost like and ascended into the sky, into heaven.

"Say hello to Violet Stanhope and Leviathan for me!" I yelled out as I waved goodbye to them.

"We will." Nye said as they both waved goodbye before turning into glitter. October was over, Halloween was over. Now began the new month, end of Autumn but not yet the beginning of winter, and closer to the end of the year and the beginning of the new. We made two new friends before they were put to eternal peace. We went back to the car, now cramped, as we went back to Veronica's to drop off Betty, who used her new car to get there, Reggie, who also drove up there, Smithers and Veronica. We then dropped Dilton off at home, after I kissed him goodbye, dropped off Jughead at his place, after I kissed him goodbye as well, and then drove back home to type up the article and get some rest.

"Scarlet Helsing had been an evil vampire for 200 years, and Nye Belmont for 500, but they finally found peace the day they discovered true friendship outside their own. ~Aria. Veronica's parents got home from their Charity Gala, that was a two night ordeal, and flipped over the mess that awaited them. ~Archie. To be fair, we should've helped out. ~Aria. Anyhow, I don't think they'll let Veronica have another Halloween party. ~Archie. Oh sure they will. This is Veronica we're talking about. But, even so, it will _never_ compare to the night the vampire came out Trick Or Treating. ~Aria. ….In a little town called Riverdale! ~Archie and Aria."

I squeaked out a yawn before smiling at the article, satisfied with my end. We then decided to go to sleep, with it being Sunday and all that. I showered, dressed in my lavender gown, and then crawled under the covers. I smiled at the bear Leviathan gave me and put the silver cross, that once held the sun stone, and chain around it's neck for now before smiling and laid down. As soon as my head hit the pillow I was asleep with no nightmares.


	39. Chapter 38

Chapter 38: Curse Of The Mummy!

*Aria's POV*

It had been 2 weeks since Halloween as I sat, on another Friday, and started nodding off again.

"Aria." I heard as I felt myself get poked in the arm. I nodded awake and looked at Jughead, who sat on the right of me and the window to my left in the back of the class, and smiled at him.

"Thanks." I whispered to him. I had History with him but not Dilton.

"You sure you're alright?" He asked me in a worried whispered tone.

"Yeah. Just couldn't sleep last night was all." I told him. I had another nightmare and it was bothering me to no end. I swear I was getting PTSD or something. I laid off horror movies for a couple weeks and it didn't help me at all.

"Nightmares again?" Jughead asked. He, Dilton and Archie knew of my nightmares and I hated worrying them.

"Yeah." I said with a sigh. I was starting to nod off again when I heard the bell ring. I jumped, startled by the loud sound, before grabbing my things. I had Gym class next.

"Hey, are we still on for date night?" Jughead asked me as I finished putting my things in my bag.

"Yeah." I mumbled before I squeaked a yawn while covering my mouth with my hand.

"Maybe we should cancel." Jughead mumbled. I looked at him in shock.

"No no no. I-I just need a nap before we go. I'll be fine. Promise." I said in a panic. I was looking forward to our date, especially since he had postponed all week over Archie's dumb ant mystery. I got to spend a lot of time with Dilton though.

"Well, Alright. I have missed you." Jughead said as I smiled and hugged him.

"I'll see you after school?" I asked him.

"Yeah." He said as I waved goodbye to him and rushed past Archie and Betty's 'Always tomorrow' conversation. I swear he likes putting things off until the last minute, and now he has Jughead pushing things off until later as well. Example our date nights. And for Archie, besides his project, his laundry he tried to sneak into mine so I'd wash it for him. He's gotten a bit lazy lately. Since his usual outfit choice was filthy beyond reason he had decided to wear tan khaki pants, white sneakers, a white long sleeve shirt with two thin stripes at the front and a yellow and orange hooded vest that had two really thick white strips on it. I think he's also wearing it because Uncle Fred got it for him. I, however, wore my usual outfit except for the shirt. I was wearing the 'werewolf attack' black spaghetti strap tank top that I had fixed sewing lavender sparkled fabric under the rips. Anyhow, I rushed to gym class and got ready. It was dodge ball day. I hope Betty and Archie make it to class on time.

*After school at Pop's Aria's POV*

I wasn't doing so good. I'm glad I didn't have to work today but my head hurt. I had started to doze off in gym class and got hit in the head by a ball. Not only that I fell asleep in chemistry while holding chemicals and, well, liquids went boom. Nothing too bad except I had to wash my hair during my study hall. Thank goodness it washed out. It gave me a headache though. While we were at Pop Tate's Archie was upset about the mummy exhibit being full, I was upset too seeing as how I wanted to go but thankfully I will be going tomorrow, and while he was talking about it I fell asleep…...again.

"Aria!" I heard loudly in my ear.

"The answer's 24!" I nearly shouted out.

"What are you talking about?" Archie asked me.

"We're not in math class?" I asked as I then looked at my surroundings.

"You're tired. You fell asleep again." Jughead commented as I blushed.

"Guess I'm more tired than I thought." I said as I rested my head in my hands, fingers in my hair, as I sighed.

"That bad?" Archie asked me, meaning the nightmares, as I sighed again.

"Nothing I can't handle." I said as I started nodding off again. I then felt my side get poked.

"Eep!" I squeaked out and jumped a bit. The boys laughed at me.

"Ha ha. Very funny." I said sarcastically.

"Maybe we should wait until tomorrow night for our date." Jughead said as I looked at him.

"No.~ I'm fine. Really." I said as he looked at me

. "Come on Aria, I'll take you home." Archie said as I pouted. Archie ended up taking me home as I laid down. I ended up sleeping for a few hours before I woke up, sun was setting, and smelled something good. Aunt Mary went with Uncle Fred, who had gone on a business trip, and wouldn't be back until Tuesday so it wasn't them.

*Maybe Archie? But I thought he was on a date with Veronica?* I thought as I made my way down to the kitchen area. I saw two plates on the table and some candles lit.

* What?* I thought as I rubbed my eyes and looked again. I wasn't imagining it.

"Glad to see you're up." I heard as I looked over by the oven.

"Jughead?" I asked as I walked over to him.

"I figured since you were to tired to go out, we'd have date night here while Archie's on his." He told me. My jaw dropped.

"But-What-How-Archie?" Was all that was coming out. What? We've never had a candle lit dinner before, it's not his style. Actually, 85% of the time we eat at Pop's or get Pop's to go.

"Archie knows and said it was fine, Veronica suggested this and I even called Betty to see if it was a good idea, which she said yes to, and I've been here cooking for a while and was going to wake you up when it was done to surprise you." He told me while he put some oven mitts on after stirring something in a pot.

"What did you make? It smells amazing. Almost…...Italian?" I questioned as Jughead pulled chicken out of the oven. Man did it look fantastic.

"Chicken Alfredo with broccoli and garlic and a special treat for dessert." He said to me.

"Did Archie tell you that I liked this? Because I know I didn't." I asked before telling him that.

"Actually…...I, um, called Dilton." He said as he mumbled the last part.

"You called Dilton?" I asked in shock. It's not that Jughead and Dilton hate each other, they just don't like asking each other for he,p when it comes to dates.

"Yeah. He said you might be bored of Pop's food and should change it up once in a while. I remember you liked Lady and the Tramp but I didn't have the sauce and meatballs. Dilton said you liked this though." He told me, almost like he was embarrassed, and shrugged a bit.

"I didn't know you knew how to make this." I confessed to him. He stopped cutting the chicken and then held up something to show me. A cook book. Not any cook book though, and not one from the library either, it was the one I gave him for Christmas.

"You still have it out?" I asked him as I took it and looked it over. I figured that, after the library mystery, he tucked it away somewhere since he could check out other library books.

"Yeah. I'd never pack it away. You gave it to me so that makes it my favorite cook book to read and try out." He told me. I then hugged him from behind. I don't know why it filled me with so much joy to hear that, and know it's true, but it did.

"Careful. I don't need to cut myself." He told me.

"Sorry. Do you want me to dress up or anything?" I asked him. I figured no but it wouldn't hurt to ask.

"Actually yeah. Can you dress up in something nice? Like a dress?" He asked me suddenly. I let him go and looked at him a bit shocked. Why? Why have me dress in a dress?

"It's a surprise, trust me." Jughead said, reading my unvoiced words, without looking at me.

"A-alright." I managed to say as I headed upstairs. Once I got up there I saw Allegro looking at me and wagging his tail. No wonder he didn't wake me up.

"You knew Jughead was here huh?" I asked him like he could understand me. He gave me a light bark and continued to wag his tail. I rolled my eyes with a smile on my face before petting him. I went to my room and looked through my closet. I didn't have many dresses but decided to look anyhow.

*What is Jughead planning? He usually doesn't care what I wear or anything like that.* I thought as I spotted the lace dress Tyrone's aunt gave me before Halloween. I smiled and pulled it out to wear. If I'm going to dress up might as well wow him a bit. After I put the dress on I looked at the new mirror I hung on the wall last week and did my hair, had it down with a little bit pulled back and held together with a black bow (Like sailor Venus in sailor moon) since it decided to wave out on it's own, and make up before butting on my silver earrings and bangles. I then found a black lace choker to put on. I put on my black heels, that are small, Aunt Mary bought me and looked at myself in the mirror.

*I hope this is good enough.* I thought as I walked down stairs. I peaked in and saw everything was set up before I heard music playing. It sounded classical with violins playing softly. I looked over at the CD player and saw Jughead was wearing his blue dress slacks and black shoes from his tux but not the top or jacket that goes with it. Instead he wore a different white button up top that wasn't frilled and top two buttons left undone with no bow tie and no jacket. My jaw dropped and my cheeks turned red. He had his hair a tad neater and wasn't wearing his usual hat. Was this really Jughead?

"You ready for dinner?" He asked me as he came over and held out his hand. He was acting like a gentleman. I don't believe it. All I could do was nod my head and take his hand. He guided me to the table and let go of my hand so he could pull the chair out for me. Oh my.

"Th-thank you." I stuttered out before taking a seat. He pushed me in and then went to his side of the table.

*What's wrong with me?* I thought to myself. This was Jughead, but, he wasn't acting like him.

"Jughead? Is everything alright?" I asked him nervously. My heart was beating so hard I was afraid he would hear it.

"Yeah why?" He asked me. He sounded like him.

"Just, surprised." I said as I looked at my glass. It was a wine glass but it was filled with orange soda.

"Didn't think I could be this romantic?" He suddenly asked me.

"No! No no no it's not that. It just surprised me was all." I said quickly and in a panic. I didn't want him to think I didn't like this.

"I know what you meant, I was just teasing. You shouldn't take this so seriously." He said as he laughed a bit. My cheeks turned so red that it actually made this tips or my ears red too.

"Sorry." I mumbled out.

"It's fine. I figured we could try somewhat fancy tonight. I've been wondering why Archie does this for Veronica constantly anyways, besides the fact she makes him." Jughead confessed to me. It made so much sense now. I calmed down and smiled brightly.

"Well you should've said that from the start." I told him as I put the napkin on my lap.

"Eh, thought the romantic reason was better. Both reasons are true." He told me as I got ready to eat.

"Well lets just see why they like expensive like food and dancing. I've never had a date like this before. Closest was a picnic in the lab with Dilton as he lit a Bunsen burner for us." I confessed to him.

"Yeah, he told me that." He said as I took a bite.

"Mmm, Jughead. This is amazing." I said as I started eating more.

"I'm glad you like it." He told me as he began eating.

"Like it? I love it. It's the best Alfredo I've ever had in my life." I said as I ate more.

"I bet you can make it better." He told me. I stopped and looked at him.

"Probably not. Jughead, you have an amazing talent here. Ever thought about taking cooking class at the school? Maybe culinary classes in college?" I asked him about this. He nearly choked on his drink and then looked at me before actually thinking about it.

"No, I never thought of that. I wasn't thinking about college yet but maybe I'll take that cooking class next year. If I like it then I'll really think about it." He said as I smiled at him.

"Glad to hear you'll think about it." I said as I took a sip of my soda.

"How about you? What are you going to do for college?" He asked me. I stopped and thought about it. What was I going to do?

"To be honest, I'm not sure. I mean I love cooking but I love my art as well. But then again I love to be near animals but I love to help people out when I can. I'm just not sure." I said as I sighed. Junior year was almost over and I had to think of something soon before senior year.

"Don't worry about it, just do something that feels more you than anything else." He said in a comforting tone. I smiled at his wise words.

"Yeah, your right." I said softly as I took another sip of my soda. We finished eating and Jughead cleaned the table.

"I can help you know." I said as I started to stand up.

"No no no. Just sit there and look pretty, I'll be back with dessert." He said as he walked away from me. I blushed and sat back down.

*How am I supposed to respond to that? I mean, this is wonderful, but it's not completely like Jughead at all. Am I really that important and special to him?* I thought as he set something in front of me. I looked at it as my jaw dropped. It was chocolate volcano cake, something I hadn't had in such a long time.

"Jughead?" I asked as I looked at him.

"Archie told me you used to love this so I looked in all the baking books at the library to find it." He said as he shrugged. I could tell it was fresh because it smelled so good and still looked warm since the whipped cream and small amount of vanilla ice cream were melting and dripping down the sides.

"Well? You can eat it you know." Jughead said as I snapped myself out of my shock. I picked up a spoon and scooped up a piece before taking a bite. My eyes nearly popped out of my head as I swallowed.

"Jughead! This is, it's, wow!" I said as I couldn't form proper words for the delicious mouth watering taste I had just tasted.

"I'll take that as a 'It's so good I can't form words to describe it' compliment." He said with a wide smile as I nodded.

"Exactly." I said as I ate some more. He laughed a bit before eating some himself. We finished and Jughead cleaned up before going to the CD player.

"Care to dance?" He asked me suddenly as he came over and held his hand out to me.

"Sure." I said as I took his hand and stood up. He brought me to the opened area and soon I heard the sound of a guitar and knew the familiar beat. Johnny Be Good by Chuck Berry.

"Can you keep up?" I asked him.

"Let's see." He said as the lyrics came up. Jughead spun me out before spinning me back into him and he smiled. I smiled back and soon we began to do the twist. He started spinning me around, spin me away from him and then pulled me back in, and twisted some more. Then he dipped me in between his legs and, when he brought me back up, I was still arched back when I jumped and grabbed his waist with my knees. I leaned in close to his ear as he nearly yelped in surprise.

"Keep your feet firm on the ground and trust me." I whispered as I held his shoulders tightly. I then put pressure on them and let go of his waist as I flipped myself gracefully over him and landed behind him. Jughead gave a surprised huh as I grabbed his hand and spun myself in front of him before twisting again. He smiled and we spun close to each other and held each other in our arms as the song ended.

"Wow! I didn't know you could dance like that!" He panted out in pure shock.

"I told you I used to dance until I was 7. My parents never entered me in competitions though." I said as I shrugged my shoulders and looked away at the last part.

"Well there's a dance competition coming up next year. Why don't you ask Archie's folks about it?" He asked me. I looked at him as he smiled down at me.

"I'm not sure. I mean, I'm rusty and-" I started explaining before he put his hand on my cheek and kissed me lightly on my lips before he pulled away and smiled.

"Just do what you feel is right." He told me as I nodded lightly. I looked deep in his eyes as he looked in mine. I could feel the heat rising to my face. Dilton was told about Jughead and I making out and I did the same thing with him on one of our dates. It was actually funny to see Dilton turn beat red when it was over. I liked making out with both boys. I saw Jughead's cheeks turn pink as he got close to me and kissed my lips lightly. My heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest. This always happened when I would kiss Dilton and Jughead passionately. I didn't hesitate to kiss Jughead back as 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' by Elton John came on. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled away. He wrapped his arms around my waist and we soon started to slow dance. We somehow ended up in the living room because we both fell backwards onto the couch, me on top of him, and yelped in surprise. We then giggled and laughed as we then looked into each others eyes again. We then kissed passionately and hugged each other tighter to one another. I felt his hands roaming up and down my back and sides as I lightly moaned. He took that chance to slip his tongue into my mouth. I gasped out a moan as I tightened my grip around his neck a little, while one hand gripped his shirt tightly, I used my free hand to slip it behind his head so my fingers could run through his hair. Jughead used his legs to help me adjust mine so I could straddle him and that's when our bodies began to grind against each other. I could hear him groan against my kiss as we moved harder against each other. He then turned us over so he could be on top as our motions continued. I gasped and moaned into the kiss as I felt him smile lightly. As one of his hands continued to rub up and down my side I felt his other hand trailing under my skirt and up my leg.

*This is moving to fast, but I don't want to stop. Not yet.* I thought as his hand reached mid thigh and gently stroke up and down. I was turning red and moaning to his gentle touch. As his hand got higher up my thigh, and his other one daring to get close to my breast.

"Ahem!" Busted! Jughead bolted up just for me to see a pair of hands grab his shoulders and yank him off me. I looked up to see Archie holding Jughead's shoulders and glaring at him.

"Uh, hey buddy." Jughead said innocently.

"Don't you 'Hey buddy' me." Archie scolded.

"Archie!" I yelped out as I got off the couch and glared at him while fixing my skirt.

"Just dinner and dancing huh?" Archie scolded Jughead again.

"Archie stop it." I said as I went over to him and got him to let go of Jughead.

"Not now, Jughead I thought you were my friend. Why are you taking advantage of her?" Archie scolded as he asked that.

"Archibald Andrews! How dare you assume he's taking advantage of me! If I didn't want him doing that then I would've stopped him myself!" I yelled at him.

"Then you should've! You're a girl and-" He started before I stopped him.

"Archie! Stop! Just stop right now. Jughead and I are both at fault and you have no right to yell at him like that. He's you're best friend and someone you can trust, you know that. As for me, well, I'm not sure why I did that or let him but I liked it alright. I'm not letting this friendship between you two die because of this relationship. You need to trust me more and him as well." I said as I motioned to Jughead.

"Yeah Arch, I'd never do anything to hurt either of you, you of all people should know that." Jughead said to him. Archie then sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"Fine. No more of that though, especially here." Archie told us.

"Fine fine." I said as I waved my hand at him.

"I should get going anyways." Jughead told me.

"Aw, really?" I whined a bit.

"Don't worry, We'll have another date." Jughead told me as I smiled.

"Sounds great." I said to him.

"Not here I hope." Archie groaned out as I glared at him.

"No silly, at Pop Tate's." I said as I helped Jughead get ready to leave.

"Thanks for tonight Jughead, I had a lot of fun and was surprised." I said as I walked him to the door.

"It's no problem for you. Besides, now I see why Archie and Veronica go out to dinner and dancing. Maybe next time we could do dancing sometime." He said as I smiled at him.

"That'd be great." I said to him. He the kissed me lightly on my lips as I kissed back. I then felt him pull away quickly.

"Come on Romeo, I'll take you home." I heard as I opened my eyes and saw Archie pulling Jughead away.

"Bye Jughead." I said as I waved him goodbye.

"See you tomorrow." He said as he started waving back before he yelped out from being pulled backwards hard.

"Come on." Archie said in a slightly annoyed tone as he and Jughead entered the car. Once they drove off I shut the door and held my hand over my heart.

*How can a guy make me feel this wonderful?* I thought as I headed upstairs. I then slipped into my gown and looked at my bear.

"Please don't let Archie kill Jughead. I don't want their long time friendship to be ruined because of me." I said as I patted the bear on the head before crawling into bed. I soon fell asleep with a sigh and a wide smile on my face.

*Archie's POV*

I couldn't believe I walked in on Jughead and Aria kissing, no, making out! Him on her and his hand up her skirt! I lost it. I was in complete shock. He's my best friend and she's my cousin. She yelled at me and told me she could defend herself. I know she can but, after Vinnie jumped her, I don't know, I've become even more protective of her than I should. Now I was driving him home as I decided to take the chance to talk to him one on one.

"What exactly were you thinking Jughead?" I flat out asked him once I drove us a couple blocks away.

"What do ya mean Arch?" He asked me.

"Don't play dumb. You never get like this over a girl, so why now? Why her? Did you think it would be funny or something?" I asked him.

"Archie, you know me, I'd never hurt you or Aria." He defended.

"Then why Jughead?" I asked him.

"We didn't do anything and I wasn't going to go further than that. I would never take advantage of her in any way. Did you ever think that?" He suddenly asked me.

"I just want to be sure." I muttered out. He did make a good point. Jughead would never do anything to hurt our friendship so why would he ever hurt Aria?

"I understand, but it's like I told you from the very beginning, I'd get to know Aria and I'd make sure to help you out with her anyway I could. Yes, I've grown from friendship to boyfriend, but my motives are still the same. I want to still be there for her and help her out, I just, well, have stronger feelings for her, that's all." He said as he tried to find the right words. I sighed.

"Yeah. I should know better. You're my best friend and I just don't want to see her get hurt is all." I confessed as I sighed in disappointment.

"Hey, I get it, you're family. You just want to make sure she's happy and safe is all, I get that. Dilton and I are two of the best guys you could trust with her, we'd never want to hurt her and try to make her happy as well." Jughead told me. He's right.

"You're right. I just can't stop the protective feeling." I told him.

"I get it, and I'm not saying you shouldn't be protective, I'm just saying Dilton and I won't be like that." He said to me.

"Just don't do that anymore." I said to him.

"Can't make any promises." He told me smugly as I then glared at him.

"Jughead." I scolded his name out.

"Well, here's my place." He suddenly said as I stopped the car. He then hopped out of the car before I could talk to him some more. I sighed as I decided to go home. I drove all the way home as I thought in silence over this. Once I got home I looked around for Aria. Now was her turn to get scolded. I went up to her room and saw she was asleep. I went over to wake her up until I got close to her. She was smiling. Actually smiling a bright smile.

*How can I wake her up now?* I thought as I saw Allegro poke his head up from behind her and look at me. I reached over and patted his head.

"I'll talk to her when she wakes up. She needs sleep." I said softly as I leaned down and kissed Aria's forehead. I sneaked out of her room and quietly shut the door. Aria was more of a sister to me than a cousin and I would protect her like a brother would. I then went to my room and, after getting into pajamas, went to bed.

*Next day Aria's POV*

Uhg. Archie is such a pain. He scolded me over Jughead and I kissing the way we were. Hypocrite. I'm positive he does the same thing with Veronica at least. I was even madder since tickets for the mummy exhibit sold out and they lost my reservation, unpaid, to get a ticket to go. I decided to wait until Monday, if it was still there, to go see it. Then I heard the phone ring.

"Andrews residence, Aria speaking." I answered the phone.

"Oh, hi Aria. Is Archie-kins home?" I heard Veronica ask me. I rolled my eyes. Speak of the devil.

"Yes, he's here, Hold please." I said to her as I went over to Archie, reading a book, and handed him the phone.

"It's Veronica, make sure you mention something nice about her since she'll probably ask." I quietly told him, as I handed him the phone, before walking away. I swear, this was super annoying. He better not blow Betty off again. I went into the kitchen, ignoring the conversation over the phone, and grabbed a peach to eat. Man, the peaches in Riverdale are amazing.

"Hey Aria, wanna head over to Veronica's?" Archie suddenly asked me.

"Archie! Don't-" I started scolding him before he cut me off.

"It's only for an hour, maybe two, I'll have enough time to get to Betty's. Also Ronnie said this was a surprise for both of us." Archie said as I looked at him in a puzzled manner before sighing and giving up.

"Alright. Fine." I said as I walked with him to the car. The drive down to Ronnie's took a while but at least I got to eat my peach. Yum. Archie wouldn't tell me why Veronica wanted him here, especially since he didn't know either, as we were guided to the room she wanted to meet us in.

"Alright Veronica, what's the surprise?" I asked her just before I noticed an Egyptian man, in his 40's, standing right next to her.

"This is professor Osiris-" She started to say before I quickly interrupted her.

"Professor Osiris, as in the museum curator who arranged the mummy exhibit, and also named after the Egyptian god of the dead, Professor Osiris?" I questioned out of pure shock.

"Yes, the same. I heard that they lost your ticket reservation and I know Archie-kins missed the ticket buy for the exhibit, so I pulled some strings for you two to have a personal interview with him for the article." Veronica said. I was so happy and excited that I hugged Veronica.

"Oh how wonderful!" I shouted with glee over this. Professor Osirus greeted us before Archie snapped a picture and blinded the man. He was just as happy as I was. I soon let Veronica go and went to the Professor to shake his hand.

"It's a great pleasure and honor to meet you Professor." I said as I shook his hand.

"This is Aria Andrews and her cousin Archie Andrews, the friends I was telling you about." She said as he got done shaking my hand and soon shook Archie's.

"It's a pleasure to meet you sir." Archie greeted him politely and ecstatically.

"As Miss Lodge had just mentioned, you two wish to have an interview with me on Pharaoh Neserbean for your school paper." He said to us.

"Oh yes please, especially me for my personal knowledge. Very little is known about Pharaoh Neserbean except for the fact that he was to marry a young lady named Betetitty and that his sarcophagus has a warning of a curse on it, which has not been fully clear on what, and that he had a cousin, Princess Lahn (Meaning Air, Melody, just like Aria's name does.) who remains to be a bigger mystery than him." I pointed out those details that I knew.

"Very good, you know your history." He said, as I now noticed his thick Egyptian/Arabic accent, and smiled proudly.

"I didn't know any of that. How did you?" Archie asked as Professor Osiris lead us to a few comfy chairs to sit in as we continued our talk and interview.

"Seriously? You didn't know? I read about it at the library I used to visit when I lived in New York City, along with the famous NYC museum of natural history which, if I remember correctly, you gave a Seminar there about 4 years ago, when I was 12, based of forgotten Pharaohs and curses that should not be tampered with." I said as I recalled that day, after my burn, I went there to feel better and ended up seeing the whole seminar.

"Hm. You wouldn't happen to be the little red head who asked about strong forgotten female queens and also asked what we can do to remember the forgotten rulers of Egypt, would you." He asked as he took a seat across from us.

"Yes I am. I'm surprised you remember me, sort of." I said as I rubbed my arm in an awkward way.

"It's not often children are at my seminars and become quite curious of Egyptian history." He replied as he chuckled lightly.

"Please, tell us more about Pharaoh Neserbean, I'm not only curious on him but of the curse as well." I said as I edged him to tell us more on the mummy. He went on to talk about the burial rituals, organs in jars, everything. I would explain things to Archie to help him understand the whole thing for the Pharaoh. Poor Veronica was falling asleep.

"So the curse on his tomb? Real or did he, in a way, curse himself?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Well this isn't a monster movie, but he did, in a way, curse himself." He said to us as Archie, at 1st grew disappointed before, perking up at the cursing himself part.

"Professor, did it have something to do with Betetitty?" I asked out of curiosity.

"You're correct. Why don't I tell you the story." He said as Archie and I smiled and leaned in closer. He began to tell us the story as we both imagined an Egyptian setting.

"You see, Neserbean had a great love in his life, Queen Betetitty. Well, she should've been his queen." He started off.

"What do you mean 'should have been'?" Veronica asked.

"I know she married another but it wasn't told why." I added in before the story continued.

"You see, the two were to be wed, but Pharaoh Neserbean was a procrastinator, and kept putting off the wedding. Tomorrow, he'd tell her, always tomorrow. You see, he didn't want to marry her until his tomb was finished and both could be housed together in the afterlife." He said as I understood.

"So she left him because she couldn't bare to wait any longer." I added in.

"Yes, that's right." Osiris replied with a nod.

"Hmp, He's lucky she stayed around as long as she did." Veronica added in.

"Well, back then, it was not easy for women and especially not easy for them to up and leave. Since she had another suitor, who was actually a sultan in Arabia, she had the option." I informed her.

"You know your history very well." Osiris told me as I smiled.

"And without Betetitty, I guess you could say, the broken hearted Neserbean was cursed to spend all of his tomorrows alone." He added to the story.

"But what did this have to do with his cousin?" Archie suddenly asked. I was curious about that.

"Well, it's said that Princess Lahn was the one who convinced Betetitty to not wait for him and if he denied her one more time then to run off with the other suitor and to continue her life in happiness." He told us as I grew shocked.

"Did he hate his cousin after that?" I asked him.

"No, but he, instead, had her marry another man instead of one of the two suitors she meet with. Not much is known after that except that she had been killed while she was with child." He said as I gasped and covered my mouth with both hands from the shock.

"That's awful." Archie said.

"Indeed. That's what sent Pharaoh Neserbean over the edge with guilt and sadness." Osiris added in.

"You'd never put me aside, would you Archie-kins?" Veronica asked as I then remembered something. Betty!

"Archie! You're project with Betty!" I nearly shouted in shock as I saw the clock.

"Oh no!" He said in shock. "Go on. I'll get the rest of the story." I assured him.

"Thanks Aria, Sorry Ronnie, Nice to meet you Professor." Archie said quickly before bolting.

"I swear, my cousin is exactly like Neserbean with the procrastinating." I said as I shook my head.

"Please continue." I ushered. I really wanted to hear the end of the story.

"Well, Pharaoh Neserbean was so upset with himself over both the loss of his cousin, her unborn child, and his love leaving him that he never wanted to see himself again because it would just remind him of how lonely he was without his love and the mistake of sending his cousin off with the man he forced her to marry. That's when he decided to destroy all his mirrors, statues of himself, and even carved off his face on his sarcophagus. He banned all mirrors and objects that would show his reflection as well. He only kept his cousin's medallion and a statue of her along with a small statue of a child with only eyes and a smile, no special features or gender shown to it, but hid them away and have yet to be found. It was also said that when he had been informed of her death, he had her mummified and buried in a special tomb just for her and found out she had been with child during the mummification process and had the fetus wrapped up and placed with her, in her arms, to hold and love in the afterlife." Osiris explained to us. I wanted to cry over this.

"That's so sad." Veronica said as she sniffled a little.

"Indeed. In one week though we will be searching for her tomb and, hopefully, discover what happened to her and find out who she was married to as well to find out more answers." He explained to us.

"Oh please, let me know right away what you find out. I'd love to get a ticket for the exhibit and be there when you give your presentation." I said to him with a small bit of excitement. I always did love the Greek, Roman, and Egyptian mythological culture and Historical culture the most along with the Romanov family history from Russia.

"Of course, I will make sure you and your cousin each have a ticket to both." He assured me with a smile. I smiled widely.

"Thank you so much." I said as I stood up and shook his hand.

"Not a problem. I must be heading off now, hopefully you and your cousin have enough information for your article." He said to me.

"Believe me, we have more than enough." I said to him.

"Thank you for your time." Veronica thanked him.

"It's of no problem." He said as he then shook her hand before taking his leave. I turned to Veronica.

"Thank you so much Ronnie, Archie and I owe you big time." I said to her as I did a quick look over of my notes.

"You really mean that?" She asked me suddenly.

"Yes I do." I said without even looking at her and not comprehending the way she said that.

"Good, then I need a favor." She suddenly said. I then looked up at her.

"Yes?" I questioned her before I heard the doorbell.

"Perfect timing." She said as she rushed to the front door yelling to Smithers it was for her. Odd. I then heard screaming so I went to the door to see Reggie and Ronnie talking. Oh no.

"Hey Doll Face, didn't know you'd be here! What a treat!" Reggie exclaimed in happiness while I sighed.

"Aria's going to watch the movie with us." Veronica then said out of nowhere.

"Movie?" I questioned. She then came over to me.

"I want you to sit next to Reggie so that I won't have to. That's the favor." She whispered in my ear. Why that sneaky little. I sighed.

"What movie?" I asked.

"A Romance Movie." Veronica said cheerfully.

*Oh please no! Archie, I beg of you, please call for a favor from Veronica!* I thought while I heard the phone ringing.

"Mister Archie Andrews on the phone for you Miss Lodge." Smithers said once we entered the living room. She gladly answered the phone.

"Thank you." I whispered to myself quietly. One problem solved.

"I can't wait to see this with two lovely ladies. This must be my lucky night!" Reggie said as he draped his arm around my shoulders. There was the second problem. Reggie!

"Dang it Reggie, I told you not to do that!" I scolded quietly as I moved his arm off of me.

"Aw come on, you know I'd treat ya right." He said as he wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me closer. My right eye was twitching as he pulled me closer to his right side.

"Reggie!" I warned in a low voice.

"Come on, just one date. I'll have you fall head over heels for me." He was saying.

"Reggie!" I warned again as I felt my blood start to boil. I had to keep calm.

"I still don't know what you see in Dilton and Jughead, especially Jughead. One's a nerd and the other is just plain weird. You need normal and handsome like me." He said, in his own way of flirting, as I just about lost it.

"Guys, we need to get Archie!" Veronica said. I snapped out my 'gonna hit Reggie' mode and looked at her in worry.

"What happened?" I asked her.

"I'll explain on the way. Reggie? Can you drive us?" Veronica asked him.

"Sure thing Ronnie." He said as he released me. Thank you! We got in the car and she explained how Archie was locked in the museum.

"I knew I should've went with him so he wouldn't procrastinate anymore." I said in an upset tone.

"Well? It's typical Archie." Reggie said.

"Is he alone?" I asked.

"No, Jughead's with him." She said to me.

"Drive faster Ronnie! My Jughead's in trouble and I know it!" I shrieked as she sped up a bit. We got there and immediately went inside and called out to them.

"Reggie, you keep the door open." Ronnie said to him.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because daddy says the electronic mechanism is on the fritz and can't be opened from the inside." She said. I then looked over and saw the door closing.

"No!" I yelped out as I bolted past Reggie to try and stop one of the two doors from closing. I failed. Right when I got to it the doors slammed shut and caused me to slam into them with an oof.

"Great. Now we're gonna have to call daddy. He's not going to be pleased." Veronica grumbled before whining her last sentence.

"No guys, I'm fine, really. Not like I smashed my still sensitive nose into the door or anything like that." I said in a sarcastic tone while standing up and rubbed my nose while looking their way.

"Sorry, you okay?" Reggie asked, which shocked me a bit.

"Yeah, let's look for my dimwitted cousin and my lost puppy of a boyfriend." I said as I walked past them and looked around. I saw Veronica hold up a busted phone. Great. Than we heard a groaning noise.

"I smell a prank, and it's getting stinkier with every step he takes." Reggie said as we looked to where he was pointing. Holy scarab it's a walking mummy.

"Oh Archie, did you really drag me down here for this?" Veronica said in a non impressed tone.

"I give you points for effort, but the jokes gone on far enough Arch." Reggie added as the mummy got closer.

"I don't think that's Archie nor Jughead." I said to them in a worried tone.

"Veronica, Reggie, Aria! Run!" I heard Archie yell out. I looked behind me and saw Archie and Jughead.

"I really hate it when I'm right." I muttered out as we turned back to the mummy. I got ready to fight when, for some reason, it walked passed us and started chasing Archie and Jughead.

"Um…...What?" I asked as I blinked a couple times in shock and confusion.

"Why did it avoid us?" Veronica asked as she, too, was stunned.

"Archie and/or Jughead did something. I know they did. Probably Archie." I said as I relaxed a bit.

"Come on girls, we're getting out of here." I heard Reggie say as he ran past us with a chair over him.

"Reggie wait! It's-" I started to say but he threw the chair anyways. Instead of breaking the glass though, it bounced right off it.

"-safety glass." I finished my sentence as Reggie looked at me.

"Seriously? Safety glass?" He asked in a shocked tone.

"They have to so they can keep the valuables in the museum safe and prevent thieves from entering." I said to him in a smart tone of voice. Then I saw Archie and Jughead run over to us.

"Jughead!" I shouted as I ran over and hugged him.

"We can't open the door, the lock is busted on the inside. What did Archie do?" I told him before letting go and asking.

"Hey! Why do you think it's my fault?" Archie asked me.

"Because you came here instead of Betty's and Jughead was most likely on his evening think when he spotted you and agreed to come with you. Plus you seem to be the one to do something stupid more so than anyone." I pointed out these facts to him.

"She's got a point Arch." Jughead said, agreeing with me.

"Not helping." Archie pointed out.

"So what did you do?" I asked him.

"I'm not sure. All we did was sneak in to see the mummy and the next thing we knew it came to life and started chasing us." Archie said to us.

"And cranky. You should've seen the way he smashed Archie's camera." Jughead said to us.

"Wait? Did it have a purple strap on it?" I asked him. I loaned my camera to Archie until he could find his.

"Yeah why?" Jughead replied and asked.

"Archibald Andrews! That way my camera! You owe me a new one!" I yelled at him with full force. He looked frightened.

"I'm actually more scared of her than that mummy." Archie said as I started fuming.

"It took me weeks to get that camera! You should've looked for yours instead of procrastinating that like you have been doing with everything else for the past two weeks!" I yelled at him some more.

"Yell at him later. Archie? Did you take pictures of the mummy?" Veronica suddenly asked. I then cooled down and thought about it.

*If the mummy came to life, only went after Jughead and Archie, and smashed my camera Archie had then it makes sense.* I thought.

"Well sure, I-" He started before being interrupted.

"Let me see." Veronica said.

"Here. What? Why?" He said and asked after he handed her the pictures. I went over and looked at them to see the mummy and his face.

"Archie, you didn't know the rest of the story." Veronica said to him.

"The rest?" Archie asked. I sighed and told the rest of the story to him.

"So basically, now that he has been walking around and chasing you, the curse is real and he wants those pictures destroyed. So destroy them!" I said to him as I handed him the pictures to destroy.

"Show the mummy you destroying them and all of this will be over, and no procrastinating." I said to him just as the mummy showed up.

"I hope you're right!" Archie said as he ran off.

"Veronica? Is there another phone we can use to call your father?" I asked her.

"No. We're going to have to wait until morning." She said as I sighed.

"It's not so bad. We're together." Jughead said as he pulled me close to him.

"True." I said.

"Got any spare burgers?" I asked him.

"Yup! Two!" He exclaimed as he pulled them both out and handed me one. I smiled as we ate them together while he sat on the floor, leaning against the desk, and me on his lap. Archie came back and told us what happened and we explained we had to wait until morning. Well, once morning came, security called Veronica's father and had him show up with the professor. We explained what happened, Professor Osiris was stunned and amazed at the same time, and, after a bit of scolding, was let go. Now Reggie brought Veronica home while Archie and I brought Jughead home before heading home ourselves. Archie went over to Betty's and then came back home.

"I'm gonna shower and get dressed before I go to the library. Betty finished her half so I need to finish my half as well." He said as I smiled at him.

"Good, then you can get me a new camera while your out and when you get back you can start your laundry before we do the article." I said with a slightly sadistic smile on my face. He sighed but agreed. Now it was night time, Archie did his laundry and gave me my new camera, by the time we got started on the article.

"It was that simple. I had found another weird mystery, and thanks to Veronica and a little bit from Aria, I solved it in the knick of time. ~Archie. But thanks to that we couldn't get out until morning. We had a lot of explaining to do once Veronica's father came to get us. But, fortunately, Ronnie's allowance was enough to cover the damages. Also, Archie was able to replace my camera that got smashed up. ~Aria. Betty had finished her half of the work last night, so I had to finish my half all by myself. ~ Archie. Serves you right for procrastinating and breaking yet another promise. ~Aria. Yes, yes. I know. Anyways, After Betetitty, er I mean, Betty heard what I went through she knew I wasn't going to put anything off anymore. I didn't want to be like Pharaoh Neserbean, always miserable and constantly procrastinating. Maybe now the Pharaoh can rest in peace now knowing someone has learned from his mistakes. ~Archie. Even 3000 years after the fact. ~Aria. …...In a little town called Riverdale! ~Archie and Aria!"

I smiled in satisfaction over this.

"You okay?" I asked Archie.

"Yeah." He said as he went to his bed.

"Betty still mad?" I asked him.

"Yeah." He said as he laid down on his bed.

"Do you want to know how to get her to be less mad?" I asked him. He sat up and looked at me.

"How?" He asked me.

"Well, you should make her a nice dinner and give her some flowers. Tulips, Lilly's and bluebells are what she loves, gt them wrapped in a bright red ribbon. Trust me, she'll love it." I said to him. He sprung up and tackled me in a hug.

"Gak!" I yelped out as his grip tightened.

"That's a great idea! I'll do that after school! I don't know what I'd do without you!" He exclaimed in joy.

"Archie! I won't be here much longer if you keep this up! Can't breathe!" I said as I wheezed out the last sentence.

"Sorry." He said as he released me.

"I'm going to bed before you kill me with your hugs." I said as I left to go to bed. After school he did exactly what I suggested, even though the food was burnt, and she forgave him completely. I was happy that everything ended with a happy ending.


	40. Chapter 39

Chapter 39: Walking In A Winter Apocalypse!

Based off a weird mystery comic. I couldn't read it so I'm doing it based off seeing the cover.

*Aria's POV*

It was now mid January and it was freezing. Thanksgiving was wonderful, especially since I helped Aunt Mary out and got to use a few of my recipes that they loved, Christmas was wonderful, especially since Mrs. Jones, Jughead's mom, announced to us that she was expecting, and New Years was a big blast. Now we were back in school and it was 20 degrees outside. The school's heater was broken today, Tuesday I might add, and it wasn't much warmer inside now thanks to that, it was snowing hard outside, thank goodness it's the end of the day, and to top it all off.

'Achoo'.

I'm getting sick.

"Bless you." Dilton said next to me for the 10th time in the lab.

"Thank you." I said in a slightly congested tone. We were working on the dream machine and I couldn't stop sneezing at all. It wasn't so bad at first, a sneeze and a cough here and there, and now I can't stop.

"Achoo. Achoo. Achoo." I sneezed again, the last two in a squeaked tone, while I was tightening a screw.

"Aria, perhaps we should stop." Dilton said as I tried not to get light headed.

"I'm fine, just the common cold is all." I said as I finished tightening the screw.

"You're health is more important than this machine." Dilton said as I began to tighten a bolt.

"It's fine, besides, once this is done you just might get that Nobel prize after all." I said as I felt another sneeze approaching. I began to fight it back.

"If you're sure." He said as he looked at the blueprints.

"Agie, voochie, avichivoo, ah-ah-achoo!" I said weird words, trying extra hard to hold in my sneeze but failed, before I sneezed really hard.

"That's it! I'm taking you to the nurse." Dilton said as I held my head.

"I'm alright." I said lightly.

"No, you're not. You keep sneezing and I'm almost positive that now you've become light headed." He told me as I looked at him.

"Dilton, school will be over shortly, I'm fine. Pops said I didn't have to work today since I did overtime during Christmas and New Years so I can go straight home." I told him as I squeaked a sneeze again.

"In the mean time, let's get you something to help." He said as, without much choice, I began following him to the nurse's office.

"What's the matter dearies." I heard the nurse ask us. She's a really sweet older woman. She was in her late 30's, had black hair, brown eyes, and some freckles on her cheeks.

"Aria keeps sneezing and it's starting to make her dizzy. She has gotten worse through the day." Dilton explained to her.

"Oh dear, let's get you something to temporarily help." She said as Dilton brought me to the chair.

"All I have is some unused nasal spray I can give you." She said as she came over to us. She told me how to use it and how much I should take. I used it and thanked her. Soon the bell rang and my head started to hurt.

"Do you have aspirin?" I asked her. Before I knew it she came over and I took two pills. I thanked her and left. Dilton insisted on walking me to Archie's car and I didn't fight it.

"Hey." I heard Midge's voice.

"Hi Midge." I said as I sniffled.

"Are you alright? You don't look so good." She asked me suddenly.

"Just a cold. Achoo." I told her before I sneezed.

"Sounds more than a cold to me." She said as she began walking with us.

"I assure you I'll be fine for tomorrows practice stunts." I told her. I was going to, after a few weeks, practice some stunts and fighting moves to sharpen up.

"Not if you're sick." Dilton said in a typical worried boyfriend tone.

"He's right, just relax and get better." Midge said in a supportive tone.

"I will." I said as I coughed. Once we got outside I wrapped my jacket tighter around me.

"Archie." Dilton said, calling Archie over to us.

"Hey, what's wrong with Aria?" Archie said as I coughed again.

"She has a cold." Midge said to him.

"Alright, come on. I'll take you home." Archie said as I felt his arm wrap around my shoulder as he guided me to the car.

"I'll be better tomorrow, I'll see you then." I said as I coughed again. I was brought into the car and was soon brought home. Archie helped me inside.

"Mom! Pop!" Archie called out.

"You're father is still at work. What's wrong?" Aunt Mary called out.

"Aria's got a cold, can you make some soup?" Archie called out as he brought me to the living room couch to sit down.

"Sure thing, one 'cold be gone' soup coming right up." Aunt Mary called out as Archie walked off. I took my coat off, but kept my sweater on, as I curled up on the corner of the couch. I then felt something warm on me. My 'Nevermore' blanket.

"Here. What movie do you wanna watch?" He asked me, after putting the blanket on me, while walking over to the movie rack.

"Dumbo." I said before I coughed again.

"Alright, Dumbo it is." Archie said in a slightly, I guess you could call it, annoyed tone before grabbing it and setting it up. He skipped the old movie previews before I heard the music for the movie. I smiled.

"Thank-Achoo. Thank you." I started to say but my sneeze interrupted me so I started the sentence over to thank him.

"No problem." He said as he came over and ruffled my hair. I whined and tried to fix it without ruining my braid. I curled up and pet Allegro, who was in front of me on the floor, as I watched the movie.

"Here ya go sweetie." Aunt Mary said as she brought over some tomato soup with two grilled cheese sandwiches and a glass of apple juice.

"Thank you." I said as she sat up the mini table before setting the food tray down onto it.

"Try to eat sweetie. I need to run to the store, Archie and I will be back shortly." She said before feeling my forehead.

"I'll be fine." I said with a small smile. She nodded her head before leaving. I was alone. I was eating my soup and grilled cheese as I watched my movie. When I took a sip of my juice I heard something knock loudly against the back glass door, making me jump and choke a bit on my juice, as I turned my head towards the sound.

*Maybe the wind?* I thought and shrugged before I heard Allegro whine.

"Gotta go out?" I asked as he gave a light bark. I set my drink down, threw my blanket off me and made my way to the back door. I opened it and he ran outside in a hurry. I saw he went behind the tree and, before I knew it, I saw a bit of snow fly up before Allegro rushed to it, barking and whining while jumping around. When I squinted I noticed a lump in the snow, a body. I rushed outside, with no shoes on, and soon found the lump, now in front of me, was in fact a body.

"Oh my snowballs!" I gasped out as I bent down and lifted the body up a bit while brushing off the snow. It was a boy, a teen. His skin was so pale, almost blue, and pale blonde hair, white even, as he wore a blue long sleeve, that had light blue on it and white snowflakes on it, with blue pants and a blue and light blue hat. He reminded me of Jack Frost in a way.

"Hey, you okay?" I asked as the boy groaned a bit but did not open his eyes.

"Dang it, the one time I'm sick and home alone." I mumbled as I tried to lift him up. It took a while but I ended up having his arm around my neck and held him close to my right side and did my best carrying/dragging him into the house. Once Allegro rushed inside I shut the door behind me and brought him to the couch. I sat him down and got a better look at him. He looked so different from other boys, in fact, I don't recall ever seeing him before. Maybe he's new or someone's out of town relative.

"Hey. Can you hear me?" I asked as I shook him lightly. I heard him groan again. I was now face to face with him as I began to shake him.

"Hey, wake up, please. I need to know if you're okay." I said to him. He finally woke up and saw me. Man were his eyes as blue as ice.

"You alright?" I asked him. He then backed up away from me as he looked around in a panic.

"Hey, calm down." I said to him. He then looked at me.

"Where am I?" He asked. His voice sounded a bit harsh, like ice or the winds of winter, but he was somewhere he didn't know at all. I don't blame him.

"In my Aunt and Uncle's home. My dog found you outside so I brought you in from the freezing cold." I told him before I coughed a bit. Allegro gave a bark, which startled the boy since he jumped a bit, and looked right at him.

"He won't hurt you unless you hurt me or I say so. He's a good dog." I said to him as he then looked at me.

"Do you need a phone to call your family?" I asked him. He shook his head no.

"How did you end up in the back yard?" I asked him.

"I lost control a bit and fell." He said. I grew confused. Lost control of what?

"So you were the noise I heard. Do you need a doctor?" I asked him. He shook his head no.

"A drink perhaps?" I asked him.

"Iced water." He rasped out. I went into the kitchen and fetched him some water before rushing back and handing it to him.

"Here, let me get you a towel." I said as I rushed and grabbed a towel for him. I came back and gave it to him. He just stared it it in confusion.

"To dry yourself off, you're all wet." I said to him.

"So are you." He said as I then looked myself over.

"I can do that later." I said as he then shrugged before drying himself off.

"Are you hurt anywhere?" I asked him as I grabbed my blanket and put it over him. He looked at me in shock before huffing.

"I'm fine ack." He said before he moved his right arm and winced.

"No you're not." I said as I got up and rushed to get the first aid kit. I came back and he was just looking at me with a cold stare.

"I said I'm fine." He said before he moved his arm the wrong way again and winced.

"And I said no you're not." I said as I went over to him, set the kit down next to him, and grabbed his arm.

"Hey!" He shouted but I ignored him. I noticed red was seeping through the shirt so I rolled up the sleeve. He had a a tiny gash, a bit more than a scrape, and grabbed a small disposable cloth to wipe it off.

"Gah! That hurts!" He yelled out.

"Yeah, I know. You need to hold still though so I can clean it and than bandage it." I said as he tried to yank away from me.

"Yeah right! You're gonna make it worse!" He shouted as I rolled my eyes at him.

"Oh stop being a baby." I said as I put the hydrogen peroxide on the cloth.

"I am not a ba-Youch!" He started to say in a pouted grumpy tone before slightly yelling in pain from the wet cloth being put on his wound.

"The more you move the more it hurts. My advise it to keep breathing and stop moving." I told him. He listened. I cleaned him up and then bandaged his arm up before looking at him.

"Good as new." I said as I looked at him with a smile.

"Yeah, whatever." He muttered out as he looked at the bandage.

"A thank you would be nice." I said as he glared at me. He looked to be about 14. Maybe he went to middle school still?

"I can clean your shirt for you." I said as he then looked at the stain.

"Hn." He said before taking off his shirt and handing it to me. He looked cute and had a bit of muscles but his skin looked almost blue.

"Keep the blanket on you, you're turning blue from the cold." I told him as I went to wash his top.

"This is how I always look!" He yelled out to me. I came back and saw him looking around.

"It's too warm in here." He said as I rolled my eyes.

"Well it has to be." I said before I twitched my nose.

"Why?" He asked rudely. I then let out three loud sneezes before I sniffled.

"Mainly because I'm sick." I said as I shuddered. I felt colder than before, and it didn't help that my clothes were wet as well.

"Why are you sick?" He asked me.

"I'm not sure. It could be from the freezing cold weather lately." I said as I coughed before walking over to my juice and sipping it.

"Really?" He asked in a skeptic tone.

"Most likely. Also could be from germs, someone else being sick, anything really." I said. I then heard the washer ding and switched to dry his top. I found a clean pair of flannel pajamas, light blue with silver sparkle snow flakes on them, and some blue fuzzy socks with white snowmen on them, on me and put the wet clothes in the hamper. I went back in the living room.

"I put your shirt in the dryer. It should be done soon." I said.

"Why help me? You don't know who I am." He said rudely towards me.

"Because I'm a nice person and I won't leave someone outside in the cold. Well, unless it was Vinnie." I said to him before thinking of Vinnie and said that.

"Who's Vinnie? And why him?" He asked me these things.

"You must be new here. Vinnie Wells is a delinquent who's been held back a couple times and doesn't know how to behave." I said as I started cleaning up my dishes.

"How so?" He asked.

"He lies, cheats, steals from the other kids, is rude, cruel, abusive, violent, spiteful, possessive, and doesn't understand what 'no' or 'I don't like you' or even 'I'm not yours' means." I said, gradually raising my tone of voice, before breathing deep breaths to calm down.

"You must really hate him." He said to me.

"I have never hated anyone before until I met him. Other than that this town is filled with nice people." I said as I thought of my 1st day here.

"Not from what I've seen." He told me.

"It's because some people don't trust right away. Also everyone is on edge since we might get a really bad storm that could cause some black outs right now. We're in code blue so everyone's trying not to panic and stock up while they still can." I told him while bringing my dishes to the sink and returning.

"So what if that happens? I like the cold." He told me.

"Not a lot of people do. We can't survive without heat. If we freeze than we will eventually die." I told him.

"Well, people are as cold as ice so they should _be_ ice." He said in a chilling tone. I then put my hand on his shoulder. He looked up at me with shocked eyes.

"Not all people are like that, some have a good reason while others are naturally like that." I said to him. I bent down and looked him in the eyes.

"Do you think _I'm_ like that? Cold as ice?" I suddenly asked him. He was just looking at me with wide eyes, almost as if he didn't know what to say to that.

"I guess not." He told me.

"Trust me, almost everyone in this town isn't like that." I told him.

"But you're just one person who isn't." He told me.

"My cousin isn't, neither is my aunt or uncle. My friends aren't and neither are my boyfriends. I can name one bad person in this town but I can name everyone here who is good. Some just don't always show it is all." I told him as he moved away from me.

"I don't believe that." He said. I went to say something but than heard the dryer ding.

"Sound's like your shirt's dry." I said as I got up and went over to the dryer to get it. I came back to see him standing when I suddenly felt dizzy. I stumbled a bit before leaning on to the wall, coughing.

"You should sit." He said as I felt him grab me and sit me down.

"Yeah, good idea." I said as I started feeling warmer now.

"What's your name?" I asked him as I started feeling sleepy for some reason.

"Jack." He muttered out. "I'm Aria." I said as I started to feel very faint.

"You alright?" He asked me before I fell off the couch, on my side, and passed out.

*Jack Frost's POV*

I had been in disguise as a human, walking around here in Riverdale, as I enjoyed my handiwork. At first I was happy about it, but then people started getting mean. I had a few adults shove me aside, claiming to be sorry, adults scolding kids for throwing snowballs, kids shoving other kids in the snow, all that stuff. I was seeing people become rude the past two days I had been walking around and it angered me. I made the snow worse today, to warn them, but it didn't help. People only enjoyed my snow around Christmas time. Well no more. I was going to make it winter forever, even freeze these cold hearted humans to teach them a lesson. If they were kind I'd know, but they weren't.

"Stupid humans." I muttered as I started turning back to myself and fly off but something happened. I was in the sky but got hit by a low flying plane. I might be immortal but that kind of stuff can still hurt me. The wing of the plane hit my right arm kinda badly as I started to fall. I used the power of the north wind to guide me to a safe location before falling in the snow, but not before hitting part of a sliding glass door. I was now going in and out of consciousness while trying to get back to my normal self. I was now stuck as a human until I gain enough strength back. "Oh my snowballs!" I heard a voice ask. A female voice to be exact.

"Hey, you okay?" I heard again. I tried to answer but only groaned. I still couldn't open my eyes. I heard her mumbling something about being alone. Why was she alone? I then felt my body being lifted up out of the snow. I still couldn't open my eyes so I had no idea what was happening. I soon felt something soft under me.

"Hey. Can you hear me?" I heard the voice ask again. I groaned.

"Hey, wake up, please. I need to know if you're okay." She said. I finally woke up only to be met with bright blue eyes, almost like mine.

"You alright?" The voice behind the eyes asked me. I then backed up away from her as I looked around in a panic.

"Hey, calm down." She said to me. I then looked at her.

"Where am I?" I asked in a voice that sounded a bit harsh, like ice.

"In my Aunt and Uncles home. My dog found you outside so I brought you in from the freezing cold." She told me before she coughed a bit. Why did she cough? I then heard a loud bark. I jumped and looked at the source of the bark. I saw, I believe it was called, a dog.

"He won't hurt you unless you hurt me or I say so. He's a good dog." She said to me as I then looked at her.

"Do you need a phone to call your family?" She asked me. Why did she care? I shook my head no.

"How did you end up in the back yard?" She asked me. What could I tell her?

"I lost control a bit and fell." I said. She grew confused. No surprise.

"So you were the noise I heard. Do you need a doctor?" She asked me. Seriously? Why did she care? She has no idea who I am. I shook my head no.

"A drink perhaps?" She asked me. I was thirsty.

"Iced water." I rasped out. She then left as I looked around a bit. She soon came back with my iced water.

"Here, let me get you a towel." She said as she quickly left. She then came back and handed me a towel. I just looked at her in confusion. Why would I need that?

"To dry yourself off, you're all wet." She told me, almost as if she could read my mind.

"So are you." I said as she then looked herself over.

"I can do that later." She said as I then shrugged before drying myself off. Why did I care? Why did she?

"Are you hurt anywhere?" She asked me as she then draped a blanket over me. I looked at her in shock before huffing.

"I'm fine ack." I said before I moved my right arm and winced. I guess it was worse than I thought.

"No you're not." She said as she got up and rushed out of the room. She than came back and I was just looking at her with a cold stare. I don't know why she was helping me.

"I said I'm fine." I said before I moved my arm the wrong way again and winced.

"And I said no you're not." She said as she went over to me, set a small white box with a red cross on it down next to me, and grabbed my arm.

"Hey!" I shouted but she ignored him. Why was she doing this? Everyone in this town was rude to me and showed cruelty and toward others. But she didn't. Was she trying to trick me? I then noticed I my small gash on my arm. Wonderful. She than grabbed a small disposable cloth to wipe it off.

"Gah! That hurts!" I yelled out. Was she trying to hurt me?

"Yeah, I know. You need to hold still though so I can clean it and than bandage it." She said as I tried to yank away from her. No way was I going to let her hurt me again.

"Yeah right! You're gonna make it worse!" I shouted as she rolled her eyes. Did she just roll her eyes at me? "Oh stop being a baby." She said as she put some liquid on the cloth.

"I am not a ba-Youch!" I started to say in a pouted grumpy tone before slightly yelling in pain from the wet cloth being put on my wound.

"The more you move the more it hurts. My advise it to keep breathing and stop moving." She told me. I didn't want to do this but I listened. She cleaned me up and then bandaged my arm up before looking at me.

"Good as new." She said as she looked at me with a smile. My arm _did_ feel better.

"Yeah, whatever." I muttered out as I looked at the bandage. I wasn't going to admit it.

"A thank you would be nice." She said as I glared at her. Why in the hail would I thank her?

"I can clean your shirt for you." She said as I then looked at the stain. I don't like my clothes stained.

"Hn." I said before taking off my shirt and handed it to her. If the girl was going to clean it than why say no?

"Keep the blanket on you, you're turning blue from the cold." She told me as she left to go wash my top.

"This is how I always look!" I yelled out to her. Oh right. She didn't know who I was. Come to think of it, who was she? I looked around to see if I could find a way out. It looked nice in here. Too warm though.

"It's too warm in here." I said, when she got back, as I saw her roll her eyes. Was this a habit?

"Well it has to be." She said before she twitched her nose. Why was she twitching her nose?

"Why?" I asked rudely. She then let out three loud sneezes before she sniffled. That's why her nose twitched. She had to sneeze.

"Mainly because I'm sick." She said as she shuddered. Was she cold? It didn't help that her clothes were wet. They were wet from helping me get inside. Maybe she wasn't like the other people. Maybe.

"Why are you sick?" I asked her.

"I'm not sure. It could be from the freezing cold weather lately." She said as she coughed before walking over to her drink and sipping it.

"Really?" I asked in a skeptic tone. Could my cold weather _really_ make her sick?

"Most likely. Also could be from germs, someone else being sick, anything really." She said. Before I could make a remark I heard a ding and soon she was off. Maybe my shirt was done. She then came back in different clothes. A pair of pajamas, light blue with silver sparkle snow flakes on them, and some blue fuzzy socks with white snowmen on them, that actually looked cute on her. Did she like winter that much? Maybe it's just a 'time of the season' thing.

"I put your shirt in the dryer. It should be done soon." She said. I had to know.

"Why help me? You don't know who I am." I said rudely towards her.

"Because I'm a nice person and I won't leave someone outside in the cold. Well, unless it was Vinnie." She said to me before she surprised me and said that last sentence.

"Who's Vinnie? And why him?" I asked her these things. I was now curious.

"You must be new here. Vinnie Wells is a delinquent who's been held back a couple times and doesn't know how to behave." She said as she started cleaning up her dishes.

"How so?" I asked. He must be horrible if a nice girl like her says things like that. Wait. Did I just say nice?

"He lies, cheats, steals from the other kids, is rude, cruel, abusive, violent, spiteful, possessive, and doesn't understand what 'no' or 'I don't like you' or even 'I'm not yours' means." She said, gradually raising her tone of voice, before breathing deep breaths to calm down.

"You must really hate him." I said to her.

"I have never hated anyone before until I met him. Other than that this town is filled with nice people." She said as she went into thought.

"Not from what I've seen." I told her. I was speaking the truth. "It's because some people don't trust right away. Also everyone is on edge since we might get a really bad storm that could cause some black outs right now. We're in code blue so everyone's trying not to panic and stock up while they still can." she told me while bringing her dishes somewhere and then returning.

"So what if that happens? I like the cold." I told her. I'm Jack Frost, it's natural for me to love the cold.

"Not a lot of people do. We can't survive without heat. If we freeze than we will eventually die." She told me. She was right and I knew it.

"Well, people are as cold as ice so they should _be_ ice." I said in a chilling tone. They really did deserve it. I then felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up at her with shocked eyes. She was touching me. She was touching me and not turning to ice like others do when I'm close to my original, non human, self.

"Not all people are like that, some have a good reason while others are naturally like that." She said to me. She than bent down and looked at me right in my eyes.

"Do you think _I'm_ like that? Cold as ice?" She suddenly asked me. I was just looking at her with wide eyes. I had no _idea_ what to say to that. If she _was_ a bad person then she would've been frozen in ice from touching me. Her touch actually warmed me a little bit. It felt….nice.

"I guess not." I told her. I didn't know what else to say.

"Trust me, almost everyone in this town isn't like that." She told me.

"But you're just one person who isn't." I told her.

"My cousin isn't, neither is my aunt or uncle. My friends aren't and neither are my boyfriends. I can name one bad person in this town but I can name everyone here who is good. Some just don't always show it is all." She told me as I moved away from her.

"I don't believe that." I said. To be honest, I don't think she's lying. I won't admit to it though. She went to say something but than heard another ding.

"Sound's like your shirt's dry." She said as she got up and went to go get it. While she was gone I stood up. As soon as I got my shirt back I was leaving. I saw her come back but something was wrong. She stumbled a bit before leaning on to the wall, coughing.

"You should sit." I said as I rushed over to grab her and sit her down.

"Yeah, good idea." She said to me. She really _was_ sick.

"What's your name?" She asked me suddenly as she started to look drowsy.

"Jack." I muttered out. "I'm Aria." She said as she looked faint.

"You alright?" I asked her before she fell off the couch, on her side, and passed out. Snowballs! Now what? I put my shirt on and went to leave out the window before I heard her dog whining. I looked back to see him pawing at her. She groaned and coughed but didn't move. I wanted to leave but I couldn't.

"Snowballs." I muttered before I went over to her. I picked her up bridal style and hissed. She felt very warm, it burned but at the same time felt nice.

"Mmm." She moaned out before clinging onto me. I went to put her on the couch but the dog stopped me. He was lightly tugging on my pants as if to guide me somewhere else.

"Alright, where do I put her than?" I asked the dog. I doubt he could understand me. He then started to leave, I followed. I followed him up the stairs and to a closed door. I opened the door to see a girl's room, mostly purple, with posters all over it. This must be her room. I walked over and put her in her bed, covered her up, and looked down at her. Her cheeks were turning a dark pink. I felt her forehead before pulling back. She was running a fever. What could I do?

"Aria, we're back!" I heard a woman's voice. Her aunt maybe.

"Snowflakes. Dog! Get them! Get them up here! She's running a bad fever!" I said quietly to the dog. He listened and ran downstairs, barking loudly, as I used that as a chance to leave. I went into my full form as I opened the window, went outside, shut the window, and then looked in to see if the dog brought anyone in there. He did. A boy with red hair and freckles like her. Maybe her cousin.

"Mom! Aria's running a fever!" He yelled before rushing downstairs. I couldn't stay. I won't freeze her but everyone here will suffer. I saw them bring Aria to a car. If she was going to the hospital than I won't stop them. I liked her. She was honest and kind. I slowed the storm to a stop so they could get to the hospital and back. I'll start it up tonight. By tomorrow I'll have the town covered in ice and snow! Anyone outside I'll freeze them! I'll freeze them all! Except her. I don't think I could freeze her without her natural kindness melting the ice away. I flew off into the clouds to rest until the morning.

*Aria's POV*

I had felt myself being moved around a lot but I couldn't wake up. I opened my eyes a couple times, but all I saw were bright lights and white walls. I finally woke up and noticed I was in my bed. How did I get here?

"You're up." I heard a voice say.

"Jack?" I muttered out before coughing.

"Who's Jack?" I heard. My vision cleared up and I saw it was Archie.

"How did I get here?" I asked quietly. My throat hurt a lot.

"I found you in here. You had a pretty bad fever so mom and I brought you to the hospital. They said to keep you hydrated and not let you outside anymore as to not risk an pneumonia." He told me. I barely understood what he was saying.

"I was in bed? When you found me?" I asked him.

"Allegro brought me up, and thank goodness he did." He said as I suddenly heard Allegro whine followed by a lick on the cheek.

"I'm okay boy." I said as I rubbed his head with my hand.

"Archie? Was there a boy here? About 14 or so?" I asked him suddenly.

"A boy? No. You were here alone when we got back. Why? Did someone break in?" He told me before asking me the last question in a slight panic.

"N-no. I heard something outside and, when I let Allegro out, I spotted a boy in the snow. I brought him inside, gave him water, cleaned his shirt and bandaged his arm up. He said his name was Jack and, well I guess, I passed out in the living room. If you found me in here though than he must've brought me up here." I told him before I came to that conclusion.

"Aria, no one was here. Plus you shouldn't let strangers in the house." He told me. I huffed.

"Excuse me for doing the right thing." I told him.

"Yeah, I know you meant well, but he could've hurt you." He told me.

"He was a bit rude at first but he wasn't going to hurt me." I told him as I coughed again.

"You should sleep." He told me.

"What time is it?" I asked him.

"Almost one in the morning." He told me.

"Why are you up?" I asked him.

"You were coughing in your sleep. I wanted to see if you were alright or not." He told me.

"Thank you, for caring." I said with a smile as I fell asleep again. I was up and down through the night and even in the morning. I heard my alarm go off. I turned it off and tried to get up.

"You're staying in bed young lady." I heard Uncle Fred tell me.

"But school-" I started to say and get up at the same time before I fell back on the bed from exhaustion. Man this fever was kicking my butt.

"No buts. I called the school so you could rest. The sooner this fever goes away the better." He told me as he helped me into bed. I was having a hard time seeing. My vision was blurred.

"I can't see well." I muttered out before coughing.

"The doctor said that the fever might do that. Here's some medicine to help." He said as I felt one hand have pills while the other had a glass of cold liquid. I took the pills and swallowed the drink down. It was water.

"Thank you." I rasped out.

"Just rest." He said as he tucked me back in bed. I was soon asleep again.

*Archie's POV*

Mom had me leave early for school because the roads were icy. Poor Aria. She's sick with a fever. Mom found her clothes were wet in the hamper. Aria said she helped a boy named Jack, who was hurt and passed out in our back yard, so maybe her clothes got wet helping him? Was she that sick before? I couldn't answer all these questions. I stopped at Jughead's house to pick him up for school. Once he got in we started talking.

"Where's Aria?" He asked the moment he didn't spot her in the car. I began driving.

"She's sick. She has a bad fever." I told him.

"How bad?" He asked me.

"Bad enough to go to the hospital. She's drowsy, dehydrated, having a hard time seeing and talking, is burning up badly and I'm not sure if she's stomaching food or not." I told him.

"Oh no. Anything I can do to help?" He asked me. I shook my head.

"She needs rest. A lot of it. If she goes outside she could risk getting pneumonia. She's _never_ been this sick before." I said as I began to worry about her again.

"Do you mind if Dilton and I check on her after school? Just to make sure she's fine?" Jughead asked me, bring up Dilton as well, as I shrugged.

"Sure, for a bit. Mom and Pop want her to sleep and get well so it'd have to be quick." I told him.

"Sure thing bud." He said with a small smile. I smiled back. We got to school but saw something was wrong.

"Huh?" We both said in unison. The school was _frozen._ Jughead and I ran over to join a group of kids as we looked over our school.

"What happened?" I asked out loud.

"Archie!" I heard as Dilton ran over to us.

"Dilton! What happened?" I asked him once he approached us.

"It's bad. The school's frozen over and there are still people inside. We can't get them out." Dilton panted out as Jughead and I gasped.

"What is going on?" I asked as I then saw someone…..Fly? No. It couldn't be. I than saw it again and, as I blinked, three kids were frozen solid.

"Riverdale shall freeze!" We all heard as we looked and saw the boy with pale, almost blue, skin, white hair, ice blue eyes and in a weird blue outfit.

"Who are you?" I shouted out as I pointed a finger at him.

"Who am I? Who am I? I'm Jack Frost you stupid boy, that's who." He said as he blew an icy cold wind onto another student and froze them in place. This was bad. This also explained the storms and cold the last 3 days.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked him.

"Why? Why?! Because this town is _filled_ with cruel, cold hearted people, that's why. If this town wants to act cold, than they shall _be_ cold. Frozen over like their hearts!" He shouted as he started up again.

"Run!" I shouted, as I grabbed Dilton and Jughead, and ran to the car. I drove off, hoping others got away safely as well, and made my way to Droctor Beaumont's shop. Maybe _he_ could help us.

"Where are we going?" Jughead yelled as I sped around the cars that were frozen solid.

"To Doctor Beaumont's shop. If it's not frozen, than he could help us." I said as I turned a corner and spun a couple times before regaining control.

"Slow down Archie! You'll get us killed otherwise!" Dilton yelled out in fear as he clung onto his seat in the back. I slowed the car down before stopping it. We were here and it wasn't frozen.

"Let's hurry." I said as we climbed out and quickly went inside. I opened the door and waited for Dilton and Jughead to run inside before slamming the door shut.

"What's with all the door slamming? Did you kids forget manners?" Doctor Beaumont asked us as he walked over to us.

"We've got a problem." I said to him.

"A bigger one than not knowing manners?" He asked us sarcastically.

"This is serious man. The whole town's being frozen in ice!" Jughead yelped out.

"Really?" He asked us as he asked us before looking outside. He saw a few frozen cars before he looked back at us.

"This is far more serious than anticipated." He said as he rushed over to a book.

"Some guy, claiming to be Jack Frost, is the one doing this." Dilton told him as we made our way over to him.

"Did you say Jack Frost?" He asked us.

"Yeah. He said he was going to freeze Riverdale." Jughead told him as Doctor Beaumont started flipping through a book.

"Why does he want to do this? Why does he think people are cruel?" I asked just as Doctor Beaumont stopped at a page and scrolled through it.

"Hm. It says very little of Jack Frost. One thing is he has grown, not evil, but bad over the years because of all the cruelty in the world. Also it tells how he was once sad that know one knew who he was, so he created an ice storm to show them. He was, apparently, also the reason why we had an ice age. I hope he doesn't plan on that again." He said as he continued to scroll through the book.

"But how can we stop him?" I asked as I began to grow impatient.

"It says here, 'One act of kindness shall spread warmth to melt the cold.' but I'm not sure what that means." He said as he began to think.

"Um Archie? Where _is_ Aria?" Dilton asked me.

"She's at home with a fever." I told him before a sudden realization hit me. Aria was at home. Sleeping. She has no idea what's going on. Dad was at work and mom was home with her. They don't know either. Dad might be frozen already but mom and Aria aren't. If the house freezes than the heat will go out. If Jack Frost gets inside and starts freezing them then she could get worse.

"We have to go back to my house! If the cold hits Aria then she could get pneumonia!" I shouted in fear as I put my hands on each side of my head and started to panic.

"But how? The roads are slippery and Jack might spot us." Jughead said, making good points, as Doctor Beaumont came up with a plan.

*Aria's POV*

I woke up groggy. It was cold, very cold. I slowly got up and saw my widow was frosted. I slowly made my way into the bathroom to relieve myself. Once I was done I went to head back to my room when I heard something. Something from downstairs. I decided to play detective and investigate. I went into the kitchen and found nothing abnormal. I went into the living room and saw someone sitting on the couch. Someone I knew.

"How ya feeling?" He asked me.

"Jack?" I asked before going into a small coughing fit.

"You sound worse." He said as to me. I then felt his cold hand on me.

"You're burning up a lot." He told me as I leaned into his hand to cool off.

"Fever. Worse. Sleepy." I said before coughing again.

"Let's get you back to bed." He told me as he guided me up the stairs.

"Where did you go yesterday?" I asked in a wheezed voice.

"I had to leave." He said briefly.

"Are you worse because you went outside and helped me?" He suddenly asked me in a sad tone.

"Yeah." I wheezed out before feeling my bed under me.

"Why then? Why help me out when it made you even more sick?" He asked me as I felt him tuck me in.

"I couldn't leave you outside. It wouldn't be right." I said as I felt sleep come back to me.

"I promise I won't-" Was all I heard him say before I fell back asleep. I heard some muffles before silence.

*Jack's POV*

Frostbite! Three of them got away. Oh well. I froze most of them. I had been flying around freezing people, pets, buildings, and other things like trees, benches, cars, you name it I froze it. After a while I came across a familiar street.

"I wonder how Aria's feeling?" I thought out loud. I don't know why I cared really. I guess it was because she was kind. She had a warm heart. I liked it. I soon found the house she was living in and swooped down to it. I looked in her room to see her get up and leave her room. Perfect! I swooped down and opened the living room window, sneaked inside, closed it, and went over to the couch. I ended up hitting the coffee table, with a loud thud, before sitting down. I rubbed my knee before spotting Aria. At first looked in the kitchen, probably looking for the source of the noise I made, before she looked in the living room and spotted me.

"How ya feeling?" I asked her. She looked at me funny before seeing who I was. Was she having a hard time seeing? No. Maybe it's because I'm in my normal form and not my human like form she saw before.

"Jack?" She asked before going into a small coughing fit. What's wrong with her?

"You sound worse." I said as to her. Was she worse? I went over to her and placed my cold hand on her. Youch! She felt like she was on fire.

"You're burning up a lot." I told her as she leaned into my hand to cool off. I didn't pull away. It might've burned my skin a lot but she needs to cool down. Maybe if I brought her outside?

"Fever. Worse. Sleepy." She said before coughing again. Fever worse?

"Let's get you back to bed." I told her as I guided her up the stairs. She was weak, having a hard time standing even. I held her tightly to make sure she didn't fall.

"Where did you go yesterday?" She asked in a wheezed voice.

"I had to leave." I said briefly. I couldn't get caught but I can't tell her that. She'll think I'm a bad person. I'm not! I just want to freeze this town until they learn to be kind or until they grow extinct and new people, who are kind, come in. I thought about something.

"Are you worse because you went outside and helped me?" I suddenly asked her in a sad tone. Sometimes humans get sick from being out in the cold, and she did say too long in the cold could kill them, so could she have gotten this fever from being outside and in wet clothes just to help me? Please say no.

"Yeah." She wheezed out as I picked her up and put her on her bed. Frostbite.

"Why then? Why help me out when it made you even more sick?" I asked her as I put her blanket over her and tucked her in. Was I feeling guilty?

"I couldn't leave you outside. It wouldn't be right." She said as it looked like she started to fall asleep. This is my fault. _My_ fault! I started to lightly shake.

"I promise I won't let you get worse! I promise I won't freeze you! I'll take care of you! I promise!" I said to her. She looked asleep now. I wonder how much she heard. I then heard a gasp. I looked up to see a red headed thick older woman staring at me in shock. This must be her aunt.

"Get away from my niece!" She yelled at me before chasing me with the broom. I bolted out of the room and down stairs. I couldn't freeze her, not with Aria near by. As I figured, she chased me.

"You're the hooligan I saw on the news! You won't freeze her like you did everyone else!" She shouted as she chased me to the front yard. I then turned around and began floating.

"I didn't plan to with her." I said to her. She looked shock. How _dare_ she accuse me of that? I'd _never_ freeze Aria.

"I'll freeze you though." I told her. She backed up as I took a huge breath. Before she could run I blew on her and she, soon, became coated in ice. I flew back inside, shut the front door, than went back upstairs to check on her. She was still sleeping. Good. She didn't need to see that. I couldn't freeze her. She was-what was she? What would you call a bond between two people? Friend? Yes! She was my friend! I then heard the front door burst open. Great. I opened her window and flew outside. I closed it behind her and flew off, not bothering to see inside, as I went back to freezing this whole town and everyone in it.

*Archie's POV*

This was ridiculous. Doctor Beaumont had us dress up as snowmen. I don't even _know_ where he got these costumes, and honestly, I don't _want_ to know. Anyhow, we were running to my house when something flew above us.

"Pose!" I said as we stopped and posed. We saw Jack Frost above us and, for a moment he stopped and looked at us but then shrugged before, flying off.

"Go!" I said as we bolted. After a while we, finally, made it back to my house.

"Mom!" I yelled out as I saw my mother, frozen, in the front yard with a broom in her hand. Why was she-.

"Aria!" I shouted as I shed the costume off and ran inside.

"Archie!"

"Wait!"

"Hold on!"

I heard all three shout out, but I ignored them, and continued up the stairs to her room. I burst open the door, expecting her to be frozen as well except, she was asleep in bed. I heard her groan before turning over onto her side. I sighed a huge breath of relief that she was fine. I looked to see her window was closed and nothing seemed frozen at all. I shut the door before heading down the stairs.

"She's asleep and not frozen." I said as we sat in the living room to talk.

"I don't get it Arch. If Jack Frost froze your mom, then why not her?" Jughead asked after he, and Dilton, were relieved to hear she was fine. On the way here I had explained to Doctor Beaumont about her being very sick.

"Hm. Didn't you say she helped a boy out yesterday?" Doctor Beaumont asked me.

"Yeah, a boy named…..Jack." I was starting to say before I came to a sudden realization.

"You don't think it was this Jack, do you?" I asked him.

"Unless he had no idea she was in here, which doesn't explain the unfrozen house, then he might not harm her." Doctor Beaumont explained.

"Jack did say he would freeze everyone for being unkind. Maybe, when she showed him kindness, he decided she was worthy to keep unfrozen." I said to him.

"Perhaps." Doctor Beaumont muttered.

"But how can we stop him? I don't have any ideas and no inventions to help us." Dilton said as he held his head in his hands.

"We'll think of something." I said as I reached over and rested my hand on his shoulder. He looked up at me and smiled lightly.

"Yeah, we'll figure this out. We always do." Jughead added as he rubbed Dilton's back.

"Thanks guys." Dilton said as he started to feel better.

"I believe I have an idea." Doctor Beaumont said to us. He wanted us to move Aria somewhere, so Jack will follow and stop us, then we can capture him and figure out how to revert all of this.

"Are you nuts?! The hospital said she could get pneumonia!" I yelled out.

"I doubt it really. Besides, it's only to my shop." He said as I glared at him.

"My car is still there, we have no vehicle to get there at all." I said to him.

"Then you and Doctor Beaumont should go get your car and Dilton and I can stay here or try to get her up to meet you somewhere." Jughead said simply.

"Jughead, that's a great idea!" I said with delight.

"Well yeah." He said as he shrugged and smiled.

"Alright, we'll go get the car, you two get her ready, if you think you can get out of here than meet us half way." I told them and they agreed. We set the plan into motion.

*Aria's POV*

I felt myself being shook awake. I opened my eyes to see Dilton.

"Dilton?" I rasped out before smiling lightly.

"Hey there." He said as he helped me up.

"You didn't have to visit me." I said. I then started coughing and wheezing.

"I got her sweater, hat, scarf and gloves. Her jacket and boots are downstairs." I heard Jughead's voice.

"Jughead? What's going on?" I asked before coughing again.

"She's not doing so good, we might not be able to get her outside." Dilton said to Jughead.

"Outside? I can't. Why? Is something wrong?" I asked before coughing again. My throat hurt a lot.

"No time to explain, the town and the people are becoming frozen." Jughead said as I felt him put my sweater on me.

"Frozen?" I questioned ad I felt the hat, scarf, and gloves get put on me.

"Yes, we need to head to Doctor Beaumont's shop to meet Archie there." Dilton said just as I felt them hoist me up. I got dizzy.

"Too fast. Dizzy." I muttered out.

"Sorry." They both said in unison. After I nodded to them, showing I was fine, they helped me down the stairs to my stuff.

"Where's Allegro?" I asked before whistling to call him. He didn't show up.

"He's at my house with my mom and Hot Dog. Your uncle dropped him off there and asked to watch him for the day so you could sleep better." Jughead said as I realized something.

"What about your mom? She's pregnant." I wheezed out as we stepped outside.

"The house is frozen but they're not." Jughead explained to me. I then saw Aunt Mary frozen and gasped.

"She's still alive, just frozen." Dilton said as we left. It was so cold.

"What's going on?" I asked as we trudged through the snow.

"Jack Frost is freezing the town and the people because he thinks everyone here is mean." Jughead explained as I felt a sudden Deja Vu.

"That sound familiar. I remember Jack saying that Riverdale was filled with cold hearted people so they should freeze." I said as tried to keep up.

"Wait, Jack?" Dilton asked me.

"I found a boy in the back yard and helped him, that's why-'cough cough'-I'm even more sick." I said as I coughed some more.

"Really?" Dilton asked me.

"Yeah." I said as I started to feel tired. I then felt myself get lifted up. I tightened my grip around, what felt like, a neck as I felt hands on the back on my thighs.

"Here, this is faster." Jughead said as I finally figured out I was on his back. He was carrying me piggy back style. I clung onto him and cuddled my face into the crook of his neck to shield my face from the cold.

"Thank you." I muttered out.

"No problem." Jughead said. After he said that I felt movement and wind. I was trying so hard not to shake. I could feel the world spinning at this point.

"Freeze!" I heard a familiar voice before feeling a cold gust of wind. I looked up and saw Jack. Only, he was….Floating?

"Jack?" I asked in shock. He then noticed me and his eyes grew wide.

"Run!" Jughead yelled as we than started moving again.

"Give her back to me! Give her back so I can freeze you!" I heard Jack yell out to us. Freeze them? They weren't kidding. What was going on? I then heard a car screech to a stop.

"Jump in!" I heard Archie yell out. I than felt myself get removed from Jughead's back and into the car. Soon I felt the car speed off.

"Give her back!" I heard Jack yell out.

"This guy's nuts!" I heard Jughead say. Than the car stopped and I heard someone get in before we drove off again.

"We need to head to the park, that's the best place to do this." I heard a familiar voice.

"Doctor Beaumont?" I asked before coughing.

"We must hurry." He said as I felt the car swerve around.

"I'm about to get sick." I said as I held my stomach.

"Hang on!" Archie screamed out before we suddenly crashed. Not again. I then heard the car doors open.

"Stay here Aria." I heard Archie say before I was left alone.

*Third Person POV*

Aria was left in the back seat of the crashed car while the boys went outside. The had slid and crashed into a tree in the middle of the park. Archie knew his dad was going to be mad about, both the car and, Aria being outside in the cold. Archie left her in the car to shield her from most of the cold. Doctor Beaumont pulled out a heart shapes crystal, a ruby actually, plated with gold around and behind it and on a gold chain. He handed it to Archie.

"This is the heart of fire. Only kindness and bravery can spark it. Once it starts glowing, we can use it to stop Jack Frost and melt all the ice with it." He explained. He pulled out a book and, before he could say anything, he was cascaded in ice. The three boys gasped as Jack Frost levitated down to them.

"You thought you could get away? You thought you could get away with your cruelty?" He asked the boys.

"What do you mean?" Dilton asked them.

"You took Aria, a very sick girl, outside into the cold, knowing she was sick and risk her getting worse, for what?" He said as the boys pulled out the rope they had hidden.

"This!" Archie yelled as they lassoed him before pulling him down and tying him up. This was no ordinary rope. Doctor Beaumont had special rope to trap magical beings like Jack Frost.

"Release me! Release me this instant! She needs me! She needs to be warm! She needs to be out of the cold!" Jack yelled to them.

"You just want to hurt her!" Jughead yelled out in defense.

"No! Never! She's kind! She's the only one in this town who's nice!" Jack yelled out. He was now acting like a spoiled preteen who isn't getting their way.

"No she's not. Everyone here is." Archie defended the town.

"No! They're mean! I've been here for 4 days and _she_ was the only one to be kind to me." Jack yelled out in a furry. Soon a small amount of wind and flurries started to wisp around them.

"But that's not true!" Archie yelled out as the winds got stronger. Before anyone could do anything Jack mustered up some magic and froze Dilton in his tracks.

"Stop!" Archie yelled out.

"Let me go! She needs me!" Jack yelled out before freezing Jughead in his place. The rope was soon let go and Jack Frost was now free. Archie backed up as the wind and flurries flew all around. Neither of them noticed Aria. She was listening to the best of her abilities and had gotten out of the car. Her hat and scarf had been blown off of her, landing in the car, as she tried to get to them. Her hair whipped behind her as she saw her two lovers frozen in ice. Archie held up the heart of fire but nothing was happening.

"That trinket won't work on me!" Jack yelled out. He then mustered up his magic and went to freeze Archie.

"No!" Aria managed to scream out as she pushed Archie out of the way. She had been hit with the ice and blasted backwards.

"Aria!" Archie screamed out. Jack stopped everything. He hit her? He didn't mean to at all. He grew shocked at what he did.

"No." Jack whispered. What had he done? Aria groaned and barely started moving. Archie and Jack both saw this. Archie was shocked she wasn't frozen solid like everyone else.

"Aria!" Archie yelled out as she sat up. Archie ran to her.

"No you don't!" Jack yelled before he used his powers to freeze Archie, in a running position, before he could reach Aria. Aria's eyes widened at this. Jack soon appeared right next to the frozen Archie.

"You don't care. You're not kind enough to melt this!" He scolded Archie, and even taunted him, as Aria stood up and looked at the sight before her. She now knew everyone and everything was frozen.

"Why?" Aria whispered out before coughing lightly. Jack noticed her as he smiled.

"I told you everyone in this town was cold hearted." He said to her. Aria was just shocked.

"Only those with kind hearts can melt the ice. If they were truly kind then they would use it to melt free. That's why you weren't frozen when my ice hit you. You're kindness saved you, and even if that hadn't happened, I couldn't freeze you anyway." He said as he made his way over to her. Aria took a step back, than another. Jack stopped and looked at her funny.

"Why are you backing away from me? You don't need to fear me. You're my friend, my only one." He said as he went to step closer to her.

"Stay away from me!" Aria yelled out. Jack froze before really looking at her in the eye. He finally noticed something. Tears. Tears were falling down her face. Why was she crying? This confused Jack so much.

"Why are you crying? Don't you see why I did this? To be rid of cold hearted people, to have people as kind as you around, to make this place better." He said as he got closer to her.

"It was fine the way it was!" She yelled out to him. He stopped again.

"You don't understand! You don't know how kind these people really are!" She yelled out at him.

"No! They're not kind at all!" He yelled at her.

"Yes they are Jack! I know cruel people, I've been around them all my life! Everyone here welcomed me into this town with smiles and open arms!" She yelled at him some more.

"You're not…..from here?" He questioned her. He thought she was but now he's finding out she wasn't.

"No. I'm not. I lived with my parents. _They_ were cruel. They yelled at me, drank a lot, beat me, never helped me, let me get hurt in school, had me fail and make me feel like a failure. I've been beaten, pushed down the stairs, bloodied and bruised up by strangers, heck, I've, literally, been set on _fire!_ Those were cruel people. I still stayed kind though. My cousin and his parents got me out of there though. I've been here for almost 2 years because they loved and cared about me. I've made friends here, I have 2 loving boyfriends, heck, I even have Allegro. He's my first pet. I've done better in school because the teachers care enough to teach me and help me. I have a part time job because the owner cares. You though! You froze everyone in this town because you didn't give them a chance at all! You say you did but I doubt it! If anyone has a cold heart, it's you!" Aria explained everything to him as she got angrier and angrier. She stood her ground with him. Jack was in shock. Everything she told him, all that hatred and abuse, she still stayed kind. How? Was she right about this town? Was he wrong?

"But, I care about you. You're my friend." He said as he began to feel sadness.

"You're not acting like one right now. You didn't even put my feelings into consideration. You acted selfish. Part of being a friend is thinking about others." She said to him. He was so confused. He held is head in one hand as he looked down.

"You've never had a friend before, have you?" She suddenly asked him. He was still in that position as he began to speak.

"You're the only one who showed me kindness. You're the only one I've seen as a friend." He said as he tried to think things over. Was freezing this town a bad idea? He didn't notice Aria walking over to him. She felt sad when she heard that.

"I understand. I was alone once too." She said to him. He still didn't look up. Something felt weird with his frozen heart. Then he felt it. Two arms around him and a warm body, a female body. _Her_ body.

He jolted up in shock but she still held him. Something was happening. She felt Jack become warmer. She looked at him and saw his skin looked pale now instead of blue like.

"Please, stop this. Please give this town another chance." She asked him. He than smiled at her before hugging her back. Soon the town, and the people, started to unfreeze. The ice melted away from them slowly. Archie was the first to unfreeze. He turned and saw Aria hugging Jack. Dilton and Jughead became unfrozen and saw this as well.

"Aria?" Archie questioned out. The two new friends pulled away and looked at him.

"Archie! You're okay!" She shouted as she was soon embraced by her loving cousin.

"Are you alright?" He asked her in a panic.

"I'm fine. I should be asking you." She said as they pulled away and looked at Jack. Archie got ready to defend her.

"Please forgive me." Jack suddenly said as Dilton and Jughead ran over to them.

"What?" Archie asked, stunned by this, as Jack looked embarrassed.

"I've been alone for so long, my heart just, well, froze over." Jack said as Doctor Beaumont, who became unfrozen and heard this, walked over to them.

"You were alone, no friends, no one to know you existed for so long, your heart became ice itself. Then you met Aria and, with her kindness, you slowly started to feel kindness. When she hugged you and shared her warmth and kindness to you, it melted your icy heart." Doctor Beaumont explained as everyone, even Jack, was stunned.

"So, because of me, this town was saved from a winter apocalypse?" She asked in a small amount of shock.

"Indeed." He said.

"You melted my heart, the ice in this town is allowing people to show enough kindness to melt them all. Everyone and everything will be unfrozen soon. I'm, well, I'm sorry." Jack said as he looked down in shame and sadness.

"Everyone makes mistakes, that's how we , I can't stay mad at friends for too long." Aria said to Jack. He looked up in shock as she smiled widely at him.

"You mean?" He asked in shock.

"Yup. I'll be your friend." She said as he smiled widely.

"Yahoo!" Jack shouted with glee as he jumped and glided around them.

"But no more freezing people." She scolded playfully. Jack stopped and looked right at her.

"I promise! Never again!" He shouted with glee. Jack decided to fly around and, once he came back and confirmed everyone was just fine, looked right at them.

"I have to go now." He said with a small sad look on his voice. He still had to spread winter around after all.

"Don't be afraid to see us sometime." Aria said as she went over to him and hugged him. He was a bit shorter than her, but she didn't care. Jack hugged back and smiled.

"I will." He said as they let go.

"Come back soon." Jughead said to him.

"Yeah." Archie agreed.

"Please do." Dilton added in as they smiled at him.

"I will, and thank you, for everything." Jack said as he waved before he flew off. Everyone smiled and waved him off. Aria then let out a squeaked sneeze.

"Let's get you home." Archie said as Aria sighed.

"I don't feel as sick anymore." She said with a smile as they walked back to the car.

"Uh oh." Archie muttered out as he remembered his car. Crashed and damaged. He went to a pay phone and called his dad, and a tow truck, and his dad picked Archie and Aria up, after the tow truck, as they went home. Archie and Aria explained what had happened and, even though he was mad at Archie for having me go outside while sick, quickly forgave them since they saved the town. Now both teens were upstairs, writing the article, and enjoying a cup or coco.

*Aria's POV*

"Jack Frost, a boy who had been alone all his life, judged Riverdale and the people in it far too quickly. He was alone and wanted a friend but had to cold of a heart to know how. One act of kindness was all it took for him to open up a little bit. One hug, another act of kindness with warm, was enough to warm up his frozen heart. I don't blame him for any of this. I understand it's hard to open up and trust people, but I also understand what happens if you start to loose kindness. ~Aria. Aria might have been sick and asleep through most of this but, it was because of her finding him hurt and in the end talking to him that, her being her kind and loving self was the key needed to save this town. ~Archie. It's not easy to find someone who cares, believe me I know, but that doesn't mean you should give up. Once you find people in your life who care for you, and you them, don't let them go. Treasure them, cherish them, and most importantly, understand their feelings and talk things out when there's a problem. ~Aria. It just goes to show you, even in the coldest of times, one can have a change of heart because of someone special in their lives. ~Archie. …...Even in a little town called Riverdale! ~Archie and Aria!"

I drank the last bit of my coco and smiled. I felt so much better. My fever was now a cold again.

"Good thing you were here to save the day." Archie said as I smiled at him.

"I'm glad I could help." I said as I set the cup down. I hugged Archie good night and went to my room to sleep, after Allegro tackled me onto the bed and kissed me non stop.


	41. Chapter 40

Chapter 40: Love Bites!

Based off a weird mystery comic called 'The Love Bug Will Get You If You Don't Watch Out'. I couldn't read it so I'm doing it based off seeing the cover.

*Aria's POV*

February 14th, Valentine's day. I woke up with a small smile. Last year both Dilton and Jughead gave me beautiful flowers, stuffed animals, and lovely poetry, which I still can't believe I didn't figure out it was them, as I got up in a rush. If I didn't hurry for the shower, Archie would beat me to it. This is one of the rare days where he hogs the bathroom. I rushed to get to the bathroom just as I saw Archie reaching for the door.

"Oh no you don't!" I yelled as I sped up. He did too.

"Nice try Aria! I'm first." He said. He was closer than I was. I smiled a wicked smile, which Archie saw and grew a slightly frightened look on his face.

"Allegro! Play time!" I yelled.

"No!" Archie yelled just as Allegro rushed at him and tackled him to the floor. I laughed an evil/victorious laugh just as I slid into the bathroom.

"You cheater!" He screamed out just as I shut and locked the door. I'd have to give Allegro a special breakfast for this one. I quickly jumped in the shower and washed up. I also had to shave today so I did that as well. I got out, dried off, put my pajamas back on and walked out of the bathroom, with Archie still on the ground being jumped/tackled on by Allegro, to head back to my room while using my towel to dry my hair. I then whistled and Allegro ran back into my room.

"All yours." I said before closing my door. I walked over to my closet and opened it up.

"What to wear." I muttered out as I looked around. It was a little warmer outside now, no snow, trees blooming early, and a good 50 degrees outside. I looked at my black laced dress but put it back. Not for today. I looked at the red Jessica Rabbit like dress I wore to the dance last year but shook my head no. Too fancy. I was looking at my rock shirt when I heard a knock on my door.

"Come in." I said as I put the shirt back and kept looking.

"Good morning sweetie." Aunt Mary greeted me, after opening my door, and closed it behind her before walking in.

"Good morning." I said as I continued looking in my closet instead of looking at her.

"You know, using Allegro like that on Archie wasn't nice at all." She told me as I sighed.

"I know. But this is one of the rare days he takes a long time in the bathroom, not to mention use up all the hot water." I commented as she sighed.

"That is true, but he just wants to look his best for Betty and Veronica." She commented.

"And I want to look my best for Dilton and Jughead but even _I_ don't take _that_ long." I added. I could tell she was smiling.

"Yes, and speaking of that, I got you something to wear today." She said to me. I stopped what I was doing and turned to look at her. I saw her holding up a shopping bag with a bright smile on her face. Now, as grateful as I am, she usually doesn't get me something that's my style.

"Um, thank you? You didn't have to though." I said, awkwardly, as I took the bag from her.

"It's not a problem deary. I was passing by a vintage store on Fred and I's date night and thought of you instantly when I saw the outfit in the front window." She said as she started walking out.

"Go ahead and try it on, I'll be downstairs waiting to see it." She said as she walked out. I blinked twice at the door before looking at the bag in my hand.

"What the heck." I said with a shrug as I set the bag on the bed. I undressed myself and pulled out the outfit. My jaw dropped before forming a big bright smile. First off, it was a jumpsuit. Never had one before but I remember seeing this and loving it. It was a halter top and 2 inches below the knees it flared out. It was a metallic light blue color but it had swirls of lavender, pink and and gold in it. Was lined in white and came with a thick light pink belt with a gold circle buckle on it. I wore that loose so the front would sag down, like it was supposed to. I found some shoes and jewelry, shoes, and a hair accessory in the bag as well. Man did Aunt Mary go overboard. But why though? I mean, I know she's always wanted a daughter to dress up but I have a job and could do this on my own. So why? I shook my wonder away and finished getting ready. I was brushing my hair and noticed it decided to wave/flip around so I decided to keep it down today, probably a good thing too with the hair accessory. I grabbed the sash and tied it around my head before looking in the mirror. I undid it and decided to wear it like a hair band instead. It was the same color and pattern as the outfit. I then pulled out thick white circle dangle earrings, with a hole in the middle and a white ball on top that was on my earlobe, and then I pulled out a thick gold bangle for my right wrist as I pulled out 2 thin lavender, 2 thin light pink, 2 thin light blue, and 2 thin white bangles on my left wrist. I then pulled out a thick lavender ring to wear as well. I looked in the bag and pulled out a pair of heels and loved them. They were open toed with light blue trimming the top and gold like metal on the bottom, which were thick heels and thick in the front so I was at least 2 inches taller from them. I did my make up in a thin line of metallic purple eye liner with a thin metallic blue eye liner and then a thin layer of black before using the black to form my half winged look. I also had on soft pink eye shadow and pink lip balm to top it off. I stood up and twirled before I stopped and smiled brightly at Allegro.

"What do ya think?" I asked him. He perked his head up and barked before wagging his tail. He approved. I pet him on the head before rushing downstairs to the kitchen. As I got closer I smelled something delicious.

*Peaches and Cream pancakes?* I thought to myself before I realized something. Jughead was here. He was the _only one_ to make those for me. I jumped off the last 3 steps and ran in the kitchen. I saw Jughead and, without slowing down, jumped and hugged him from behind.

"Jughead!" I shouted just one second before clinging onto him. I caused him to stumble a bit but the both of us managed to balance out.

"Someone's in a happy mood." He said to me with a smile on his face.

"Why not? You're here and I smell those _amazingly delicious_ pancakes!" I said to him as I hugged him a little tighter before kissing his cheek.

"You knew I was here from the smell of the pancakes huh?" He asked me.

"Yup!" I said with a huge smile on my face.

"I should feel upset about that but at least I now know I'm the only one who makes those for you and make you happy." He said as he smiled back.

"Oh! There you are!" I heard my aunt's voice. I turned my head to see her holding something in her hand followed by a camera.

"Jughead." My aunt called out. Just as he turned.

'Click.'

She took a picture of us.

"you two are so~ cute together." She said to us. I rolled my eyes with a smile while Jughead lightly chuckled.

"I forgot to give you these too." She told me. I tilted my head and looked at what she was holding. She was holding glasses, well sunglasses, the vintage kind that were light pink and, probably, heart shape with thin to no gold metal frame. I smiled at her.

"You didn't have to but, you're right, I love it." I said as I let Jughead go and went over to hug my aunt next.

"Let's leave him alone to cook while I show Fred you're new outfit and take a few pictures." She said to me.

"Alright." I said as I ran out of the kitchen to find Uncle Fred. I found him in the living room, reading the paper in his chair, and smiled as I put on my glasses. I went over to him and hugged him from behind.

"Thank you Uncle Fred for letting Aunt Mary buy me the outfit for school today." I said to him. I felt pat my arm a little bit.

"You're welcome. Mind if I see?" He replied before asking to see me in my new outfit. I let him go and showed him my 'Groovy' outfit. Uncle Fred looked at me for a moment before he smiled a very wide smile.

"You look lovely. Actually, you look like my mother did when she was a teenager, except she had black hair instead of red." He told me.

"I'll take it as a compliment since it shows I'm _definitely_ your niece." I said with a very large smile.

"I meant it as a compliment, yes." He said to me with the same smile I had. That was something I noticed. I looked a little like my mom, yes, but I had my dad's eyes and smile, which Uncle Fred did too, and while Archie got the red hair from his mom and dad's Scottish side, I got my red hair, not just from my dad's Scottish side, but my mom's mom, who is my grandmother, had red hair as well. Mom's side of the family skips a in all i looked more like my dad's mom more than anyone else in the family.

"See hun, I told you she'd look great!" My aunt appeared out of no where and right next to my uncle.

"Yes yes, you were right." He said as they both chuckled.

"Smile!" My aunt suddenly said. I did. 30 pictures later, Archie had showed up and was amazed by my outfit, not even realizing it was me at 1st, and just as we were finishing up there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it." Archie said, probably to have Aunt Mary take more pictures of me as revenge for the bathroom incident, as I started to loose my smile.

"Just one more." She said. Yeah right. One more turns into 10. She snapped a few photos just as Archie came back in with…...A walking bunch of giant flowers?

"Uh, what?" I asked.

"Salutation's Aria." I heard a familiar voice. I grew a huge smile on my face. He went overboard. I ran over and grabbed the flowers from him.

"Dilton, I love them. You didn't have to get me all these though." I said as I admired the flowers. They were primroses, pink and red, mixed with a beautiful type if ivy, lavenders, bluebells and Aloe mixed together. I then realized the vase I grabbed was actually a pot. They're planted together in a very large pot so I could keep them for a long time.

"Why wouldn't I? It's Valentine's day and this is one of the things to show you my love today." He said to me. I had baked them sugar cookies, which I put aside for them, and I had their gifts in my locker at school.

"Oh my! How lovely." Aunt Mary said, also admiring the flowers, as I smiled.

"Here, let's put them here for now." Uncle Fred said to me. I smiled and handed him the flowers so he could set them down on the coffee table.

"Thank you Uncle Fred." I said to him. I then turned back to see Dilton blushing a pink color. I tilted my head in confusion. Why was he staring at me like that with pink cheeks?

"You look beautiful." He finally said in a soft voice. I smiled and walked over to him, giving him a big hug and a small kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you, for both the flowers and the compliment." I said as I held him close. Dilton snapped out of it and smiled.

'Click.'

We heard the camera go off.

"You two are cute together as well." Aunt Mary said as she fawned over the picture she took. I let Dilton go.

"Aunt Mary, please no more pictures. I need to eat now." I said to her.

"Alright, go eat." She said as she smiled. I grabbed Dilton's hand and rushed into the kitchen before she changed her mind. Just in time too.

"Breakfast is ready." He said cheerfully with a smile. He looked up and spotted my new look.

"Woah! Aria. You look, I mean, what I'm saying is, um, ah well, you look beautiful." Jughead stumbled over his words before finally saying what he wanted to say. I smiled at him.

"Thank you." I replied as I sat down and began eating.

"Hello Dilton." Jughead greeted Dilton. Did he sound bitter?

"Greeting Jughead." Dilton greeted back. Did he sound bitter too?

"No fighting or being bitter you two. You know I love you both and I will not have arguing or showing off today." I said as I took another huge bite of my pancakes. Man these were amazing.

"You're right." Jughead said.

"Indeed. Sorry." Dilton agreed.

"It's alright." I said as I finished my breakfast just as Archie came in.

"You're done already?" Archie asked.

"Yup! You better hurry too or we'll be late." I said as I put the dishes in the sink and then went into the pantry to grab the cookies I hid. I then came out and handed them to Dilton and Jughead.

"Here you guys go. Special sugar love cookies for my two special guys." I said as they opened the bag and admired the perfect shaped heart cookies.

"Wow." Dilton marveled.

"These look amazing!" Jughead said as he marveled at them too.

"They taste better than they look you know." I said with a toothy smile.

"I bet they do." Jughead said before putting his away. I curiously tilted my head.

"I'll save it for later though." Jughead added.

"Same here." Dilton said with a smile.

"I just have to grab the rest for the school." I said as I went back to the pantry and grabbed the rest. They were cinnamon instead of sugar but still good.

"Really?" Jughead asked, slightly disappointed.

"These are cinnamon, yours are sugar." I called out to them. I came back with a bag filled with small bags of cookies.

"Plus you two got more." I pointed out to them. They smiled. I know that made them feel a little more special.

"Guys, we gotta go or we'll be late." Archie said as he rushed for the door. Oh sugar! We bolted. We piled in the car, Jughead to my left and Dilton on my right, and started to leave. Once we got out of the driveway I noticed Betty flagging us down.

"Archie stop." I said. He put on the breaks.

"Why'd ya- oh. Hi Betty." Archie was going to ask me why he had me stop him but then noticed Betty.

"Could I bother you for a ride? My car's in the shop." She asked us.

"Of course. Right Archie?" I said yes to her before asking Archie.

"Yeah, sure. Glad you caught us in time." Archie agreed and informed her as she hopped in the car.

"Glad I saw you, otherwise Archie would've drove off." I said with a smile.

"By the way Aria, love the outfit. Vintage." She commented me.

"Thank you. Aunt Mary surprised me with this, though I'm still not sure why." I said before shrugging and leaning back.

"Because she loves you." Archie told me.

"She told me last year she always wanted a daughter to dress up but a niece was good enough." I commented before I remembered something. I opened the bag and pulled out a thing of cookies.

"Here Betty, Happy Valentine's Day." I said as I handed her the cookies.

"Oh wow! Did you make them?" She asked me.

"By scratch." I said to her.

"I'll save them for later, but yum! Thank you." she thanked me with a smile. I leaned back in my seat.

"You're welcome." I said with a smile as I cuddled up to both boys for the rest of our small trip to school. For once, I hope today goes smoothly meaning, no mysteries. After the last one I have been tired of mysteries. I love them but I need a break from it all.

*Science class Aria's POV*

I had handed out cookies to my friends, basically everyone in the school except Vinnie, and was now in science class with Dilton, Archie, and, unfortunately, Reggie. I also got to see Robbie and, since I couldn't give him the cookies during gym class, I gave him cookies on the way to science class. It was 10 minutes into science class and Professor Flutesnoot was no where in sight. Weird. Suddenly a man in a lab coat came in. He was kinda hot actually. He was slightly darker skinned, Italian maybe, bald on purpose, dark eyes, and he looked like he had muscles under his charcoal suit and black dress shirt. What kind of science teacher is he? The thing is he kinda looks like Lex Luthor from the superman comic series, just as handsome actually but tan instead of black. Double weird.

"Greetings class, My name is Professor Luxord, your substitute teacher." He introduced himself as he wrote down his name for us on the board.

"Excuse me, but, where is Professor Flutesnoot?" Dilton asked out of the blue.

"He had an emergency that suddenly came up and he won't be back for a couple months." He explained as he turned around and opened the attendance book. Why am I staring? Well he _is_ attractive for someone in his 30's. Maybe?

"Dilton Doiley." He called out next.

"Present." Dilton called out as he lightly raised his hand. Professor Luxord gave him a slightly strange look before looking at the book.

"Aria Andrews." He called out.

"Present." I said as I rose my hand half way up. He looked at me and gave me look, one I couldn't read well, before writing in his book again. Triple weird. Once he was done he closed the book, put it away, and than pulled up a giant rectangle covered in a cloth.

"Alright class, I'll set you up with a small project today, but first, a small change." He announced to us. A project? A small change?

"Excuse me sir, but what change?" Archie suddenly asked him.

"I'm glad you asked Mister Andrews. I'm combining last science class and this class together." He said before we heard a knock. He opened the door and the science class from last period came in and sat near us. I waved Jughead over when I saw him and he immediately rushed over to my other side.

"How great! I get to work with my two favorite guys!" I exclaimed in happiness. I didn't notice the look Professor Luxord gave us, especially when Jughead and Dilton gave me a quick kiss on each cheek.

"I had not arrived last period like I planned so Principal Weatherbee allowed me to pull them out of their last class for this. Also, do not get used to your current situation, that will change too." Professor Luxord added in. I tilted my head a bit in curiosity.

"More?" Archie asked.

"Yes. I've noticed you all mainly keep the same partners, so today we're going to change that." He said as he looked at all of us.

"What?!" Most of the class said in shock.

"How so?" Veronica asked.

"Well, since you and Miss Cooper keep picking Mister Andrews as a partner most of the time, for this you will be partnered up with Mister Jones." He said as he looked through a couple pieces of paper before writing something down, most likely their names, as mine, Veronica's and Jughead's jaw dropped.

"What?!" The three of us yelled out. Betty and I are the only girls Jughead can stand, and Veronica can't _stand_ Jughead. Is he serious.

"I believe I didn't stutter." He said as he pointed at Jughead with his pen and motioned him over to Veronica.

"This is redi-" Veronica started to say but Professor Luxord looked at her.

"Then you will fail. This is going to be 85% of your grade starting now." He told her, all of us actually. Veronica pouted as Jughead went over to her. I wasn't liking this. I looked around and sighed a breath of relief when I saw Vinnie Wells wasn't here.

"Alright, now Miss Cooper, I'll pair you up with." He started saying as he looked around the class before spotting who he wanted.

"Mister Mason." He said as he partnered her with Moose. Moose was lucky because, even though he wouldn't be partnered up with Midge, Betty was smart and would help him out a lot. Midge looked a bit sad but swapped seats with Betty. This continued for a while. Midge was partnered up with Dilton, a girl named Cheryl Blossom was with Robbie Dobkins, Big Ethel was with Cheryl's twin brother Jason, wait a minute. I noticed a pattern. These people were opposites of each other. Some could still get along but just ended up being opposite. If that's true then I hope I don't get.

"Miss Andrews, you'll be with Mister Mantle." Professor Luxord suddenly announced.

"Yes!" Reggie cheered a bit too loudly while I groaned. I was **not** a happy camper. Once I got up to Reggie, slowly I might add, He had the biggest grin on his face as he wrapped his arm around my upper arm area, where his hand rested on my upper right arm, and pulled me closer to him.

"This is great! I finally get to spend some time with you Doll Face." Reggie said to me. My right eye started twitching.

"Reggie, I'm going to count to three and, when I hit three, you better let go of me or I'm kicking you out this window." I said in an attempted calm tone.

"But we're on the second floor." Reggie said in a slightly shocked tone.

"Oh dear, it's learned to count." I said in a sarcastic tone as I shrugged his arm off me. I heard a couple laughs.

"I'm not that bad." He said as he put his arm back on me.

"One." I said.

"Aw come on." He defended.

"Two." I said in a warning tone. He didn't move.

"You wouldn't." He said to me. I glared at him.

"Care to test that out? Two in a half." I asked before saying the last line in a warning tone. He let go of me.

"Thank you." I said in a polite voice before pulling out my science notebook and a pen. Once Professor finished partnering up people he was setting something up. I then noticed a drawing of me with a I heart Reggie top while clinging on to him with a lovey look on my face, girls in the back round with hearts and broken hearts, some crying, while Reggie had a smug flirty look on his face.

"Reggie?! What, prey tell, it **this?!** " I asked in an angered tone.

"What are you talking abo-nng!" Reggie started to ask in an innocent yet annoyed tone until he looked at his note book and had a freaked out pale face. That's when he realized he didn't open a blank page like he thought.

"Oh, well, um." He said in a fluster as he rubbed the back of his head. I noticed a small date on it. It was dated last year, around the time Reggie brought out those movie theater monsters and girl to be precise. My blood boiled up a bit.

"Reggie Mantle! You had **no** right to draw me! And this is inaccurate! Not even in you're dreams!" I started to yell at him. Thank goodness we were closer to the back of the class.

"Now class." Professor Luxord said. Everyone, including me, calmed down.

"Now, for your project, all you have to do is care for these beetles." He said as he pulled off the cloth and revealed beetles. He handed a container to each of us. I examined mine and saw it was a red lily leaf beetle.

"What kind of beetles are these?" I heard Archie ask.

"They're red lily leaf beetles, known for eating lilies." I explained to him.

"Very good Miss Andrews." Professor Luxord said with a smile. I softly sighed and smiled. I liked compliments from him. Wait! No! I have two boyfriends already!

"Now, all you need to do is examine them and feed them. That's it." He told all of us. Really?

"Well that's easy." Reggie said as he reached in the container and pulled out our beetle. I shook my head.

"Reggie! It's going to bite you if you do that! Or worse! You'll end up killing it!" I scolded him.

"Aw relax Doll Face, I can handle a little-ow!" He was saying before yelping out. He got bit.

"Darn it Reggie." I said as I picked up the scared beetle.

"It's alright little fella." I said as I pet it and gave it a lily petal to eat.

"You have to be more careful, they're fragile creatures." I said as I examined the beetle.

"You're right. By the way, did I tell you how amazingly gorgeous you look today?" He said to me. I ignored him. I than noticed something on the beetle's back.

"What's this?" I mumbled as I picked up a magnify glass and looked closer. It was a pink heart.

"How strange. These types of beetles don't have this kind of mark on them." I mumbled as I put the magnify glass down and wrote some notes.

"Reggie, did you see the mark on it's back?" I asked him. I didn't get a response.

"Reggie?" I asked as I looked over and saw him staring at me, with a lovey look on his face, resting his cheek on his fist.

"You are just so beautiful." He told me suddenly.

"Reggie! Now is not the time to flirt!" I nearly shrieked out. I noticed his pupils looked….pink?

"Reggie?" I asked again as I looked at his eyes.

'Bite.'

"Ouch." I said as I pulled back and ended up dropping the beetle. I looked at where it bit me and started to rub it.

"Are you alright my love?" Reggie asked me.

"Reggie! I-" I started scolding but when I looked up I felt…..warm. I felt butterflies in my stomach. He gave off a pink aura with hearts around him. My heart started thumping and my cheeks started turning pink.

"I'm alright. Thank you." I said as I suddenly leaned on my fist and looked at him with interest.

"Has anyone ever told you you have the most fabulous smile?" I asked him.

"As long as I hear it from you, I could care less what others say." He said as he started caressing my cheek.

"Reggie! Hands off my girl!" I heard Jughead suddenly yell before swatting his hand away from me.

"Wha-" Reggie started to say but soon Dilton came over as well.

"Reggie! Please stop flirting with her. She's our girlfriend, not yours." Dilton added in.

"What is going on here?" The professor suddenly asked.

*Third POV*

Everyone heard the commotion and was either shocked, rolled their eyes, or figured nothing was wrong sense this was normal.

"Stop it you two! How dare you hurt and yell at Reggie-kins!" Aria suddenly yelled out in anger. How dare they smack his hand and yell at him.

"What?!" The entire class, except the Professor, yelled out in pure shock. They all knew Aria loved and adored Dilton and Jughead so much and was very loyal and dedicated to them. Why on earth did she say that? No one noticed the rare beetle that bit the two was now on the move through the class.

"What did you call him?" Jughead asked in pure shock. Aria got up and started to caress Reggie's hand.

"Are you alright Reggie-kins?" Aria asked him with worry. The problem was she wasn't thinking straight.

"Yes, I'm alright Doll Face." Reggie said as he tried to sound masculine. Aria giggled.

"Oh, I just _love_ it when you call me Doll Face." She complimented as she kissed his injured hand.

"What?!" Dilton and Jughead screamed out in shock. Even Archie was shocked. The beetle made it's way over to Veronica and suddenly bit her.

"Ouch." She yelped quietly. Midge had been right next to her too.

"Are you okay?" Midge asked Veronica before she, too, was bit.

"Ouch." Midge yelped out quietly.

"What was that?" Veronica asked. The beetle latched onto Midge's sweater and waited to be moved.

"I'm not sure." Midge replied before both girls looked at Jughead and Dilton. They then felt the same effects as Aria did with Reggie.

"Aria? What are you saying?" Jughead asked again in shock.

"You hate it when he calls you that." Dilton added in.

"Why would I hate the love of my life calling me by my pet name?" Aria asked them. Everyone flew into shock to where Archie fell off his stool.

"What?" Jughead yelped out.

"But-but we're your boyfriends." Dilton stuttered out. Aria looked at them before rolling her eyes.

"I guess you used to. I'm not sure why though, Especially when I have the _sexy~_ Reggie." Aria said before she clung onto Reggie. Soon Midge was next to Dilton and Veronica next to Jughead. The beetle was on the move again.

"Don't talk to Dilton like that." Midge defended him before kissing his cheek.

"Yeah! Juggy-kins did nothing wrong." Veronica added before she kissed his cheek.

"What?!" Everyone yelled in shock. Soon the beetle bit Dilton and Jughead before moving over to Moose and Betty.

"See? Someone loves you two. You don't need to fight over me anymore." Aria said while in Reggie's arms. Before Moose could argue he and Betty were bit and soon felt lovey as well. Robbie went to ask Moose if he was going to stop Midge but got bit and fell for Cheryl. When he went over to Cheryl she got bit too and fell for Robbie. This process continues quickly. Professor Luxord was so confused until he saw Aria's notes and saw the part about the heart shaped back. Now he understood. It was spreading. Before he could say anything the bell rang and the infected students left. Everyone except Archie Andrews.

*Archie's POV*

I don't understand why everyone's acting so different, especially Aria. First her with Reggie, than Veronica and Jughead and even Betty with Moose. I just lost both my girlfriends and Aria ditched her two boyfriends. What is going on? I was than stopped by Professor Luxord.

"Archie Andrews, I need your help." He said before handing me Aria's notebook.

"I can give this back-" I started to say but he interrupted me.

"You're sister and friends are in danger." He told me.

"Aria's my cousin." I corrected him. Before realizing what he said.

"Wait? Danger?!" I yelled out in shock.

"You have to help me look for this bug before things get out of control! This beetle has a heart on it's back. It wasn't supposed to leave my lab but it did. If it continues to bite people than they will all fall under a false love." He told me.

"So that's why she was acting weird. Alright, you can count on me." I mumbled the first part before saying the last part in a determined voice.

"Good, now let's hurry." He said as we began our search for the beetle.

*Aria's POV*

I was walking down the hall with Reggie, me clinging to his arm, as we got some weird looks. I'm not sure why.

"Hey Doll Face, wanna skip class and let me buy you something lovely for Valentine's day?" He asked me.

"Oh Reggie, that sounds romantic! I have a free period anyway." I exclaimed as I held his arm closer to me.

"Great, but first, I know a place where we can make out in private." He said as he whispered the last part in my ear. I smiled and looked at him.

"Reggie-kins, I love it when you talk like that." I said in a slightly seductive tone. He took my hand and off we ran, through the halls and around a few corners until we ended up at the projection room at the top of the gymnasium. No gym class so we were completely alone.

*Archie's POV*

I was rushing around, trying to find that beetle,when I noticed people were becoming couples and some were strange together. I noticed Reggie pulling Aria somewhere and decided to follow them. At first I lost them but I did find the beetle. I creeped up slowly to it before trapping it in the container it was in.

"Yes!" I shouted with glee.

"Now to find Aria." I said as I went looking for them. I turned a corner and saw Jughead and Veronica flirting. It felt like my heart was breaking for both myself and Aria. Then they ate some cookies and when they looked at each other they jumped back and freaked out. What? I went over to them quickly.

"Archie-kins! Jughead tried to kiss me. Jughead!" Veronica exasperated while Jughead freaked out.

" _You_ tried to kiss _me!"_ Jughead freaked as she ate another cookie.

"By the way, where's Aria? I need to thank her for these cookies." Jughead said as he ate another cookie.

"Jughead, nows not the time for, wait. Cookies?" I was trying to tell him before I questioned the cookies.

"Yeah." Jughead said as he had another.

"He _is_ right. They _are_ good." Veronica said as she showed me the bag of cookies Aria made for her too.

"That's it! The cure is the cookies!" I said as I grabbed both of their hands and ran to where I last saw Aria and Reggie.

"Veronica, where would you go in this school to be alone?" I asked her.

"The projection room at the top of the gym. Why?" She asked me. I started to explain as we hurried to the room.

*Aria's POV*

'Slam.'

Reggie had slammed me into the wall as we made out. I had my arms around his neck and I lifted up my left leg so he could hold it and rub my thigh better. His other hand was roaming up and down my side before he started kissing my neck.

"Mm. Reggie. I never knew you were _this_ good." I lightly moaned out as I felt him nibble my ear.

"I've never done this before, I'm glad it's with you though." He whispered in my ear before kissing my jaw line and smashed his lips against mine again. My cheeks were burning as I felt something hard against my leg.

"Mmph. Reggie. Mmph. Hold on." I was trying to talk to him through our kissing.

"What's wrong? Too fast?" He asked me. I started to adjust myself.

"Something hard is poking my thigh. Do you have a pen in your pocket?" I asked as I tried to adjust again. I heard him chuckle before he leaned in close to my ear.

"Sorry Doll Face, it's just me." He told me before kissing my neck.

"Ah! R-Reggie!" I moaned out as I realized what he meant. I then felt him get yanked away from me.

"I told you to stay away from my girl Reggie!" Jughead yelled out.

"Jughead Jones! I am not your girl! I'm Reggie's!" I shouted out at him.

"No you're not. Listen to me-" Archie started saying before I interrupted him.

"No! You just hate Reggie! That's why!" I shouted as I went over to them. I felt Archie hold me back.

"Before you make any decisions can you at least eat a cookie?" Archie asked me.

"What?" I questioned him. Why would I eat a cookie?

"Reggie, Aria made some cookies, if you two eat one and still love each other than I won't bother you two anymore." Archie said to us.

"Well, if that's what it takes than fine." Reggie said as he bit into a cookie. He looked dizzy but then looked up.

"So, what's going on?" Reggie asked.

"See? I bet he still loves me." I said as I moved out of Archie's grasp before clinging onto Reggie.

"Right Reggie-kins?" I asked him.

"Huh? Oh yeah." He said as he smiled.

"Oh no. You need to eat one too." Archie said. I let go of Reggie and opened my mouth to protest but Jughead shoved a cookie in my mouth. I bit into it's sugary sweetness and soon felt warmth in my stomach and heart as I smiled. My cookies were delicious. I then opened my eyes and looked around.

"Why a I here again?" I asked as I felt arms around me.

"We were going to continue kissing, right?" I heard Reggie ask. I remembered the beetle biting us and how we acted after, even the making out. I turned around and punched Reggie.

"Hands off! I'm not your girl! I told you I'm dating Jughead and Dilton!" I shouted at him as he stumbled backwards.

"My girl's back!" Jughead said as he spun me to face him and kissed me. I kissed him right back before pulling away.

"So it was the beetle?" I questioned as I turned and looked at Archie.

"Yeah." He said. I than had an idea.

"Let's bring this back to the professor and, while you do that, I'll announce to eat the cookies. Trust me." I said to them.

"No problem." He said as we split up to follow through with the plan.

*Third POV*

We hurried to the Professor and handed him the beetle.

"You three are back to normal?" He questioned them.

"Yes, Aria is too. We figured out a cure." Archie told him. Before he could ask Aria soon appeared on the announcements. She had told Principal Weatherbee what was happening and allowed her this privilege, but only because he didn't want love crazed teenagers roaming around the school and not get school work done.

"Attention students, Aria Andrews here. First of all, Happy Valentine's Day, second, let's now celebrate with the cookies I gave everyone and third, if you feel confused after please read the weird mystery column that comes out tomorrow, Friday the 15th, and it will explain everything that has happened. Enjoy." She said. Everyone was a bit confused but ate the cookies anyway. The ones who were infected with the beetle bite ended up back to normal and grew confused on why they acted the way they did. Dilton apologized to Midge and ran to the science room where it all began. He got there and saw Archie, Reggie, Veronica, Jughead and Professor Luxord.

"What happened?" Dilton asked as he made his way over to the group. Before he made it over though Aria ran up behind him and hugged him from behind.

"Wah!" He yelped out as he tried to keep his balance.

"I'm so sorry! I feel horrible for yelling at you and Jughead! I'm me again and I remember I'm your's and Jughead's girlfriend, not Reggie's. I'm so sorry!" Aria said as she freaked out. She felt so horrible that she couldn't hide it.

"I forgive you, I'm just glad that's what it was." Dilton said as she let him go.

"I have a couple questions though. One. What kind of beetle is that and two. Why were my cookies a cure?" I asked Professor Luxord. He'd know.

"Well the beetle is a rare experimental beetle called Amour De Coccinelle. It shouldn't have been here in the first place but it seems my lab techs accidentally put it in with the other beetles thinking it was one as well." He explained.

"Amour de what?" Jughead asked.

"It's French. It means Love Bug." I explained to him.

"But why make it?" Veronica asked.

"Well, I thought that it would help with animals that were going extinct to mate better and, if successful, than use it two help two lovers express their love for each other. I never meant for this to happen though and I do apologize." He explained to them.

"But what did Aria's cookies have to do with curing us?" Dilton asked him.

"I get it." I said as I realized the answer. It was so simple.

"I bake my cookies with love. Especially Dilton's and Jughead's. I always felt my sweets tasted better when I put my heart into it." I explained to them.

"As cheesy as that sounds, she is correct." The professor explained. Than the bell rang. School was over.

"I need to go. I've gotta work today." Aria said before handing the professor a bag of cookies and started walking away. Suddenly Jughead and Dilton each had her hand with theirs and offered to escort her to work. She smiled brightly and agreed. Archie decided to write everything down with the help of Reggie and Veronica. Once they all left Professor Luxord smiled a wicked smile before pulling out his cell. He hit speed dial and heard the phone ring a few times. He heard the phone pick up on the other end.

"The beetle was a success, except for one thing. This girl made some cookies that broke the trance." He paused and listened to the other end.

"Very wise. I'll keep an eye on her and her cousin more. For now I'm sending a sample of these cookies. I'd like to know what's in them." He said on the other line. He then hung up and put a cookie in a plastic bag to send that and the beetle back to the lab. He sat there and started at the rest of the cookies before shrugging. He pulled one out and bit into the cookie.

"Hm. Not bad." He said as he continued to eat the cookies.

*Aria's POV*

It was now the end of the day. Pop's only had me work half time so I could spend time with Jughead and Dilton. I surprised them with a lobster dinner I had reserved for them. Now it was 9:30 and I at home with Archie as we finished up the article so we could get to school early in the morning to publish.

"And so, it just goes to show you, love can not be forced. It's a natural thing that will happen when the time is right. ~Aria. I can't believe Aria's cookies are what cured everyone. I mean, I knew they were good, but who would've thought they'd be a cure against false love. ~Archie. I guess it just goes to show you that, even if you haven't found true love yet, fake love is not the right way. It also shows that, when you do find love, no matter what race, gender, and as long as age is legal, love will find a way to you when you least expect it. ~Aria. …..Even in a little town called Riverdale. ~Archie and Aria."

I smiled at our handiwork.

"Aria? What _was_ in those cookies?" Archie suddenly asked me.

"Archie, you know I make my cookies from scratch and love, and I'm not giving you my recipe." I told him.

"I was just curious." He asked me.

"Maybe the fake love of the love bug verses my real love I put in the cookies counteracted with each other." I explained to him.

"Maybe." He said as he thought about it.

"I'm off to bed. Goodnight." I said as I started heading to my room.

"Goodnight." Archie replied. I went to my room, changed into my purple gown, and than slipped into bed to sleep. As I slept I felt a wave of weirdness rush over me. Something big was coming. I just had no idea what.


	42. Chapter 41

I **AM SOOOOO SORRY THIS IS LATE! I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE IT WAS GOOD AND I HAD A VERY LONG WEEK! THANK YOU FOR THE PATIENTS!**

Chapter 41: Green Eyed Monster!

*Third POV*

Night time, before spring break, a lone fisherman, blond and 34 with blue eyes and peach colored skin, was fishing for fish for the market, himself, and his pregnant wife. He only had to do this for a little longer before he could get enough money for the baby. He pulled out a picture of his blond haired beauty and sighed with a smile. He felt the net stop in the water. He sighed and put the picture away while walking over to the net. Once he got there he started to pull the net up to see what he caught.

*It must be a whopper or something.* He thought as he continued. He didn't notice the green, scaled webbed hand that grabbed the end of the boat. When she popped up he saw her and gasped in pure fright. She grabbed him and examined him before she hissed.

"Yellow hair. 'Hiss' No good." She hissed out in a creepy, raspy tone before she threw him over her shoulder and into the rough ocean waters.

"No good! No good!" She kept hissing out as she began destroying the boat. By the time she was done the boat was no more, sank to the bottom of the ocean, as the man managed to swim to shore.

*Next Day After School Aria's POV*

"Aria, booth 5." Pops called out as he set the tray on the counter top. I skated over and grabbed the tray before bringing it to the booth. Today was another busy day at the Chock'lit Shoppe. We were close to spring break so, before some people would leave for most to all of the three weeks, the joint had been packed the last week or so. It's not busy now, good thing, but I know it will be later. Jughead was in the back booth, taking a nap from eating so much food, as I smiled at him and lightly shook my head. He was so adorable. I went over to Betty, who was at the counter reading a book, and got her attention.

"Need anything?" I asked her.

"Oh! Not now, but thanks." She replied. I shrugged and continued wiping down tables when I suddenly heard the door burst open.

"Jughead!" Archie yelled out. Uh oh. I bolted right to him just as Betty got up.

"Wait until you hear what I heard!" He yelled out before I grabbed his arm.

"Sh! Are you nuts?! Jughead's in the middle of a recovery nap!" I scolded him.

"Oh. I didn't know." He whispered to me.

"Betty's coming over. Choose her instead of Veronica for the beach dance please." I whispered in his ear before skating off into the back just as Betty got right next to him. It's not that I don't like Veronica, I do, she's a great friend. Relationship wise, Betty is simple while Veronica is complicated. Betty rarely asks for much while Veronica stresses him out, gets him to whine and complain, leave him broke a lot of the times which has me floating him cash once or twice a month, has him doing things he doesn't want to do and forces him to either choose her or make him beg her for forgiveness later. Honestly, Reggie's a better match for Veronica than Archie, but Archie never wants to listen to me. He's a dope. I sighed. I put the dishes in the sink and went out just in time to see Jughead grab Archie, freeing him from Betty and Veronica's clutches, and run out the door. Great.~ I looked at the table and saw the unpaid bill. I was mad now. I stormed over, with the unpaid bill, and got in between both bickering girls.

"Now look what you two did! You nearly tore my cousin in half, made Jughead save him and, if that wasn't bad enough, you made Jughead forget to pay the bill! You two don't realize the constant pressure you put on him! He already can't choose between you two but now you've made it more stressful on him! You two need to either get along and learn to share or _both_ of you will loose him!" I shouted at them as my face started to turn red. Thank goodness there were no customers here. I know Jughead has a tab and all that but that's not the point. Both girls seemed completely shocked that I had just yelled at them like that but I had to say something.

"Now, if you two want my advice, stop asking Archie to choose, let him take both of you, be happy about it and apologize to him for your childish behavior." I told them as I turned on my heel and skated off before they could say anything. I swear, I might be 16 but I'm the oldest 16 year old I know so far. Even Jughead doesn't act like that and he acts like an adorable child. After I went back into the kitchen I did the dishes and cleaned up in there. I got out at 8 pm and started skating home. It was a bit dark but it was fine. By the time I got home, after petting Allegro, I decided to check on Archie to see how he was. When I looked in his room he was asleep, still in his clothes, holding a pictures, one of Betty and the other of Veronica, as he muttered and drooled all over his pillow. I shook my head. He was stressed into choosing which one to take and I was not helping much. I pulled the blanket over him and turned off his light before walking out. I skipped dinner and changed into my little mermaid pajamas. I decided to go to bed and hoped things would work out tomorrow.

*Morning Aria's POV*

I had to drag Archie out of bed this morning, and make breakfast since Aunt Mary and Uncle Fred went off on another business trip, so one whiff of my French toast with cinnamon and nutmeg he woke right up. We ate and hurried off to school. I had to work today so I hope I'll have time to practice with Midge today. We walked inside and bad vibes washed over my body.

"Archie! Walk me to my locker?" Betty suddenly appeared and asked him. Here it comes.

"Uh, alright." Archie said as they walked up the steps together, leaving me behind.

*Great. Not again.* I thought as I stayed a good distance behind to observe. What? He's my cousin, I'm protective. I need to make sure Betty and Veronica don't stress him out again. I looked around the corner just to see Betty covered in grape juice and Veronica handing her a dress.

"It should fit you, it's a size 16." Veronica said in a snarky attitude with a sly look on her face. That's it!

"Veronica Lodge! That was horrible! You know very well you two are the same size! I'm tired of both of you already!" I shouted out a scold while I went over to them and got between them. I took the dress from Betty and tossed it at Veronica.

"Return it and stop this rudeness!" I yelled at her. I then turned to Betty.

"And I'm sure you tried to lie to Archie about Veronica and I want you to stop this rudeness as well!" I yelled at her as well.

"Aria-" Archie started but I glared at him.

"No Archie! They need this, trust me." I told him firmly.

"And if you two don't stop this instant, He's going to go with someone else!" I scolded even more just as the principle showed up.

"Girls! What is the meaning of this unruly display?" Principle Weatherbee asked us.

"I'm stopping a fight before it starts." I told him. It was true after all.

"Well I'm glad you're stopping it. That would not be a good display for our new transfer student to see on her first day." He told us with his hands on his hips. The four of us gasped and looked at him funny.

"Transfer student sir?" I asked out of curiosity.

"What transfer student?" Betty asked as well.

"Kids, please welcome to Riverdale High, Miss Dorsa Fin." He introduced before taking a step to the left to reveal a girl, wearing a dark green knee high skirt, a light green tank top, green shoes that matched her skirt, green eyes, pale almost green like skin and….Green hair? She then went over to Archie.

"Hi, you must be Archie Andrews. I've heard so~ much about you and am honored to meet you." She said in a high pitched perky tone.

"Me too Dorsa, me too." Archie said in a slightly love struck tone. Oh boy.

"Wow! You have red hair! I _love_ red hair." She said as she guided him away from us.

*Weird.* I thought before it hit me.

*Weird means weird mystery. Naw. No way.* I thought as I shook the thought out of my head.

"Well how nice. She's making friends already." Principle Weatherbee said with a smile.

"If she's new than how did she know Archie's name?" Veronica asked in a jealous tone.

"She might've heard talk followed by his article." I stated that fact.

"She could be right." He said before walking off.

"I think there's something fishy going on here." Veronica pouted as she crossed her arms.

"Me too, me too." Betty said as she, too, crossed her arms. Oh boy.

"Did you see the way she dove in here and made a splash at Archie?" Betty soon continued with a look of anger and jealousy on both hers and Veronica's face.

"And what's with that green hair?" Veronica asked rudely. I sighed and got in front of them so they could see me.

"She might be expressing herself. Plus, you know how Archie can be a 'Ladies Man' at times. And I also warned you that, if this didn't stop, you'd loose him to another girl." I told them as they glared at me.

"Shut up!" They both yelled at me.

"Whatever." I said with a shrug before walking off.

*Time Skip Aria's POV*

Another day at the Chock'lit Shoppe, more work to be done, another simple day and Archie was on a date with that Dorsa girl. I decided to go over to them and take their order.

"Hey guys. Can I get you anything?" I asked them.

"Hey Aria, how's work?" Archie asked me.

"Kinda slow right now, but good." I said with a smile. Before I could blink my arm was lightly grabbed and I could feel one of my pigtails being stroked and examined.

"Oh my eels! You have red hair too! I love red hair!" Dorsa exclaimed. I was starting to get a bit uncomfortable but maybe she was used to doing this.

"Yeah, I know. I met you this morning, kind of." I said to her. She stopped and looked at me.

"I did?" She questioned.

"Yeah. You kinda went over to Archie only though." I explained to her.

"Oh I'm sorry. I would've loved to have noticed and meet you sooner." She apologized to me. I smiled at her.

"It's fine. Honest mistake. My cousin _can_ steal all the attention." I joked with her. She started laughing.

"Hey!~" Archie whined out from my joke. Maybe this Dorsa Fin girl was good for him after all.

"Will you be at the beach party?" She asked me.

"Um, well." I was stuttering out. I wanted to go but I _still_ can't find a one piece, or rather I hadn't had time to.

"Don't worry about the scar so much Aria, just wear a shirt over the two piece and you'll be fine." Archie suddenly spouted out.

"Please come with us. I'd love to get to know you better." She said as she mentioned 'us'.

"Archie? You're going with her?" I asked him.

"Betty and Veronica-" He started saying but I put my hand up.

"I get it. Sure. Yeah, I'll go." I stopped Archie from continuing before agreeing.

"Great! Now if you'll excuse me, I need to use the little guppies room." She said to us. I lightly giggled.

"Guppies?" Archie asked.

"I mean girls room." She corrected yourself.

"Did you're parents used to be sailors or Marine biologists?" I asked her.

"They loved the water, and I do too." She explained.

"Then you don't need to correct yourself. If this is natural for you, then continue to be yourself." I said with a bright smile.

"Sure thing." She said before getting up and heading to the bathroom. I looked over at Archie.

"I like her." I said to him.

"So do I." Archie said to me as he sighed a content sigh.

"Well, I'm glad you're not stressed out anymore." I said to him.

"Don't you have work to do?" He asked me.

"Not much, I'll come back later though." I said to him as I skated off. Hours passed by and soon my shift was over. I made it home and had a normal dinner before bed.

*Time Skip To Day Before The Dance Aria's POV*

I was at Pop Tate's and didn't have to work today. Actually I was invited to sit with Archie and Dorsa. She didn't seem to mind at all. Actually, she's the one that practically _dragged_ me over to the booth with them.

"So, you don't work today?" She asked me.

"No, not today." I told her as she smiled. She then hugged me.

"Good! I get to spend more time with my new best friend." She said to me. I smiled and lightly chuckled.

"Well, I'm glad about that." I said to her.

"And Archie, I just can't _wait_ for tomorrow's beach party. I just _love_ Pelican's Cove." She said as she let me go. Man was she excited and happy.

"You really love the ocean, don't you?" He asked her.

"Love the water, what can I say." She said to him.

"Do you two like the water?" She asked it.

"Yeah, it's nice." Archie said to her.

"I love it. I'm not originally from here so being by the ocean is nice." I said to her.

"Perfect." She said with a bright smile.

"How so?" Archie asked.

"Well, uh." She stuttered out. Why stutter out?

"It's because it's a beach party and you expect us to swim with you huh?" I asked her.

"That's exactly it." She exclaimed with a huge smile on her face.

"Oh, alright." Archie said.

"If you two will excuse me." She said.

"Guppies room?" I asked as a joke and giggled as I moved out of the way for her. She giggled.

"Yeah." She replied before walking off. Once she left I sat back down and looked at Archie.

"You really like her huh?" I asked him.

"Yeah, she's wonderful." He said as he sighed with a goofy grin on his face.

"Pst, Archie, Aria." We heard. I then looked over Archie's head and say two familiar girls.

"Betty. Veronica. I warned you to stop stalking Dorsa! There's absolutely nothing wrong with her." I said just as they poked their heads up while wearing sunglasses.

"Wait? What?" Archie asked.

"I've seen them these past few days stalking Dorsa and doing some investigating on missing fish, hair dressers dying hair and even talked to the fisherman to see if Dorsa could either be the monster or to frame her for something she didn't do." I told him.

"This is getting out of hand you two!" Archie scolded them. I moved next to Archie so the girls could sit across from us.

"20 pounds of salmon was stolen from the grocery store, the fish at the pet store were set free to the fountain in the park, no hair dresser in all of Riverdale has dyed any hair green this year, and the fisherman said there are coves and secret grotto's by Pelican's Cove." Betty explained to us.

"One, the salmon could've been stolen by anyone, two, the fish being released in the fountain could've been a spring break prank or someone who wants to free animals, three, maybe she went _outside_ of Riverdale to dye her hair or did it herself and four, even though the fisherman is most likely right about that it doesn't prove anything about Dorsa. You two will say _anything_ just to have Archie to yourselves." I said as I crossed my arms and glared at them.

"Are you two mental?!" Archie yelled out at them.

"But you didn't see she actually used her _tongue_ to flick and eat a _fly!_ " Veronica stated.

"So what?! You think she's a female version of The Creature From The Black Lagoon?!" I yelled at them.

"Exactly." Veronica agreed.

"You two really _are_ up to your tricks again." Archie yelled at him.

"But this isn't jealousy anymore _."_ Betty said in a worried tone _._

"There's a genuine threat here." Veronica stated in a worried tone.

"I understand you two are worried that we won't be friends anymore but how can she turn human?" I told them before asking them.

"Well, um." Veronica started to say.

"We're not sure really." Betty confessed.

"Then out!" Archie yelled at them.

"But-" They both said at the same time as Archie and I grabbed them from their seats and pushed them until they were out the door.

"Out." Archie said to them.

"I'll go with them so you and Dorsa can be alone." I said as I walked outside with the girls and continued to push them. I got them to the parking lot and put my hands on my hips while tapping my right foot.

"Well?" I asked them.

"Well what? Why won't you two believe us?" Veronica asked me

"Maybe because you two have been acting like dopes." I told them as I made sound like a question even though they knew I wasn't asking them but telling them instead.

"She's right." Betty said with a sigh.

"What do you mean?" Veronica asked.

"Archie's so used to our craziness, like what we say and do to each other, that he thinks this is the same thing and since Aria's been here, she's seen the same thing. That's why they don't believe us." Betty said to us.

"Now you're getting it." I said as I crossed my arms and smiled.

"But we're going to prove we're telling the truth about her!" Betty suddenly added in.

"Wait what?" I asked in shock. Betty than pulled out a bottle of water.

"Water?" I asked her.

"Salt water. I suspect that on dry land she's human but once she touches salt water she reverts back to her original form." She said as I shook my head.

"You two are nuts!" I said as I took the bottle from her, unaware she had loosened the top of it.

"You're not doing this." I said to them in a scolding manner. I than walked away from them to go back into Pops but ended up bumping into Dorsa. The water bottle opened up and spilled all over her arm.

"Oh my gosh! Dorsa I'm so sorry I-" I started to apologize but than I saw something on her arm. Scales. I gasped a bit. She than ran away from me.

"Dorsa wait!" I yelled out just as Archie came out.

"What happened?" Archie asked me just as Betty and Veronica ran passed me.

"I stopped Betty and Veronica from a prank but ended up bumping into her and spilling salt water on her. I thought I saw scales on her arm." I said as I grabbed Archie and ran to find her. We then saw her with Betty and Veronica down an ally.

"Alright Miss clam dip, show us your arm." Veronica said to her. Dorsa then sowed us her arm.

"Whatever are you talking about?" She asked them.

"Dorsa, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to spill the water on you, honest. It was an accident." I said as I went over to her. As I did I was looking at her arm. It seemed normal again.

*But I swear, maybe her skin looked dry.* I thought as I looked at her.

"No worries, accident's happen." She said as she came over to me and put her arm around me. I noticed a wet dirty rag on the ground.

*Did she wipe her arm off with it? Why?* I thought before shrugging it off.

"I'm tired of you two and your jealous actions. You almost got Aria blamed." He said as he came over to us.

"But Archie! You're blind to your own weird mystery." Betty said to him.

"I've heard enough." Archie said as he grabbed Dorsa's hand and started walking away while I was still under her grip.

"I hope I don't see you two at the party." Archie suddenly said. Something just wasn't clicking with me.

"You go ahead, I've got something else to do." I said as I got out of Dorsa's grip.

"Alright." Archie said as Dorsa waved goodbye to me. Once they were gone I went from a happy face to a serious one as I looked at the girls.

"Aria, we're-" Betty started saying but I interrupted her.

"Correct." I said.

"What?" Both girls asked.

"You two were correct. Something's wrong with her. I'm not sure if your sea monster bit is true or if she just has a skin reaction to salt water but I swore I saw her skin dry up, almost looked scaly." I said to them as I went over to the dirty wet rag that was behind Dorsa. I put it up to my nose and smelled it. Salt water.

"This smells like salt water so she wiped her arm off with it." I said as I turned and showed them.

"So, do you believe us?" Veronica asked me. I shook my head.

"I'm not sure what to believe. Let me try to see how she acts tomorrow and do a bit of research on missing sailors by the cove before anything. I don't want you to doing anything tomorrow except apologize to Archie and give him your support whether you want to or not. It'll help, trust me." I said to them before walking off. I went to the library and did some extra research, finding nothing, before going home and going on my computer to research some more. I found out that the sailors who went missing had red hair. How weird. Dorsa mentioned liking red hair, which some girls did, and loving the water, which most people do, so this was a very loose connection. How could she turn human? Sea creatures, except mermaids, can't poses that kind of magical ability. So how? I'd find out tomorrow at the party.

*Time Skip Tomorrow Evening Aria's POV*

I was at Pelican's Cove, wearing a purple tropical skirt and a purple thick top purple bottom two piece, that covered my scar, with a fake hibiscus flower necklace and hair band on me with my hair down and sandals for the party. I was keeping my eye on Dorsa to see what would happen. I had informed Jughead and Dilton so they could help out without Archie's knowledge. Jughead wasn't to comfortable with it but, since his tab was due at Pop's, I made the deal of paying it off in exchange for his help. He quickly agreed. I than noticed Dorsa bringing Archie to the water. Jughead was somewhere else and Dilton had brought food over to the hidden Betty and Veronica. I then saw Dorsa come over to me.

"Come on Aria, swim with us." She said as she grabbed my hand. I went to protest but she had already started dragging me to the water with her and Archie. Now the three of us were in the water. It wasn't cold like I thought it would be.

"Stop" Betty yelled out.

"Don't go." Veronica said.

"What is it now." Archie said to them.

"Archie, I think they're right. All the sailors that went missing had red hair." I told him.

"Not you too. If any of says she's a sea monster, then I'm going to pull my hair out." He said as he grabbed his hair.

"No! Don't do that lover! I like your hair just the way it issssssssssss." Dorsa started saying to him before her voice went from sweet and perky to raspy. Her looks started changing too. She was turning fish like. Bull sharks! Betty and Veronica were right!

"You're. You're." Archie stuttered out.

"The new love of your life crab cakes." She hissed out before grabbing him and hoisting him over her shoulder. She then grabbed me by my hair and started carrying/dragging us out further to see.

"No! No! No!~" I screamed out as I began struggling before falling backwards into the water. People were screaming now.

"Help! Somebody stop her!" Archie yelled out before we were both dragged under water. I had to hold my breath as I tried to struggle some more. She was strong. Then air.

"Of course you can sweetie, then you can stay with me for years and years." I heard her say before I felt myself get pulled out.

"Why are we here?" I asked her after a couple deep breaths.

"You see, I hate living here alone. So I look for a local man to stay with me." She said she showed us the pictures of the men who went missing.

"They're all red heads like I researched." I gasped out.

"My weakness, unfortunately they never last long." She said with a sad look on her face. She was lonely? That's why?

"It made it even harder when my brother was killed before my first love." She added in as I saw a small tear run down her face. I felt like my heart would break. I mean, I know this is wrong, but I understand the loneliness perfectly.

"Phillip, here only lasted two years, 1915 to 1917." She said as she pointed to the one with the yellow jacket.

"Waldo here, however, stuck around for a whopping 14 years." She hissed in delight. Archie stood up while as she got out of the water, my hair still being held.

"Then what? They left?" Archie asked just as I saw the bones and gasped.

"No! I think they never did!" I said as Archie then noticed the bones as well and gasped.

"I still couldn't bear to part with them." She explained. This creature was definitely nuts. I was then let go.

"Once they wear out I find a new one." She said as she went over to a trunk and pulled out two sets of chains and shackles.

"How? How do you turn human?" I asked her.

"I used a special potion. My brother showed me how before he died." She said.

"So you want us as your slaves?!" Archie screamed out.

"No, my little flounder, I want you as my husband." She hissed as she was soon upon us and shackled us.

"And my cousin?!" He shrieked out.

"Well, I wasn't expecting a second, nor a girl." She said as she had me look at her.

"But I could always use a friend, or a quicker replacement if needed." She said as I panicked.

"No way!" I shrieked out while trying to get away. I couldn't.

"Unchain them Dorsa, or else." I heard Betty say. I looked and saw Betty and Veronica were here. Oh thank goodness.

"Or else what?" Dorsa hissed out.

"Or else we light up your life." Veronica said to her.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dorsa asked. I then saw Veronica pull out a...flashlight? Ronnie turned it on and blinded Dorsa. Archie and I made a run for it but she still had our chains and kept a strong hold on them. We both fell backwards before being dragged back to her.

"Turn it off or they'll never write a weird mystery." She threatened them.

"Don't believe her! She won't kill Archie! She won't!" I yelled out. I was suddenly lifted and held in her arms. The way she had me held, one wrong move and she'd snap my neck. I gasped in fear. I didn't dare try to move.

"No, but _you_ I could." She said as she glared at them.

"Yeah right." Veronica said. I felt her hands move a bit.

"She means it! I can't move or she'll snap my neck!" I shrieked out.

"Do it!" Dorsa yelled again. Veronica listened and turned off the flashlight. I felt Dorsa's hands loosen up but not release me.

"Now you two are not welcomed here, get out! Archie and Aria are staying here with me!" She hissed out at them.

"Dream on you unholy mackerel! We've been fighting over Archie for years!" Betty shouted out.

"And we're sure as heck not going to give him up so some love sick squid like you." Veronica added. What am I? Four day old sushi?

"And Aria's out friend, she comes with us. Now let them go." Betty added in as she pulled out a can. Wait? Hairspray?

"Ha! You can't harm me with hairspray." Dorsa shouted at them with a smile. I realized something.

"Dilton told you sea creatures hate their gills messed up huh?" I asked them.

"Yes!" Betty said as she got closer.

"Messed up how?" Dorsa said as her grip tightened again. I yelped in fear but Archie hit her knee. Dorsa scrunched back in pain and let me go so Betty could spray her gills.

"Here's some spray oil for you!" Betty shouted as she sprayed. Dorsa freaked out and let our chains go.

"Gak! I've gotta wash this stuff off!" Dorsa shouted as she ran to the water to rinse it off.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Archie said as he ran over to them. I was rubbing the area where Dorsa had grabbed me. I'm glad nothing got broken. Next thing I see is the girls tugging on Archie's chains saying they will take him to the coast guard.

"Girls!" I shouted loudly. Everyone stopped and looked at me.

"First off, have you learned nothing?! This is how the problem started in the first place! And second, what about me? I'm here too you know." I said as I made my way over to them.

"You're right." Betty said as she let Archie's chain go and came over to me.

"This _is_ how the problem started." Veronica said in a sad tone.

"And we didn't mean to ignore you. You were the one who tried to warn us about our behavior in the first place." Betty said to me.

"Tell ya what. We'll _all_ tell the coast guard and after Archie will take you two out to dinner." I said with a smile.

"As long as it's not seafood then I agree to that." Archie said as we all lightly laughed. We quickly left before anything else could happen. On the way the girls got our chains off us. Once we made it to the coast guard and told him everything.

"Aria!" I heard two familiar voices. I turned the upper half of my body around only to be collided into be Dilton and Jughead. We both landed on the sand as they bombarded me with hugs and kisses on the cheeks.

"We were so worried!" Jughead said in between his kisses.

"Indeed. You gave us quite a scare." Dilton added in between his kisses as well. I started giggling.

"Guys. 'Giggles' Stop please. 'Giggles' This 'Giggles' tickles." I said as I tried not to laugh. They stopped and got up so they could help me out as well. I brushed the sand off me and smiled. We decided to leave the beach and let the coast guard handle everything for now. After a while of wondering around, talking and being happy, Archie and I decided to head home and write the article. Now it was Sunday and, after a long day of chores, showing the crew where the cave and all the entrances were, hanging out and other stuff Night had fallen as Archie and I finished the article with ease, knowing there would be no more danger.

"And so, we escaped the clutches of the sea creature named Dorsa Fin. The next day, Veronica hired a crew to seal off and fill in the cave so Dorsa fin could never escape and try this again. She paid for it with her credit carp. ~Archie. Seriously?! A horrible pun?! No! That was horrible! ~Aria. Sorry. But kidding aside, Betty and Veronica learned that when jealousy drives your behavior, people might not always trust your motives. ~Archie. And sometimes, you can loose more than you think when this happens. So things are back to normal. ~Aria…..In a little town called Riverdale! ~Archie and Aria!"

I was now satisfied with the results. To be honest, I don't think I was supposed to be involved but my red hair threw me in the look with Archie. Oh well. Archie and I said our Good nights and headed off to bed around midnight, unaware of tomorrow's events.


	43. Chapter 42

**I AM SOOOOOO SORRY THAT THIS IS LIKE 7 WEEKS AND 4 DAYS LATE! I've had a lot to do. I had a wedding reception to go to, I had been out of work for 3 weeks, I had over time before then, I just started a new job a few days ago, mom and I were sick and I just found out today that a friend of mine has cancer in his left lung. it's been hell and now with the new job it's going to be tough writing but I'm trying. plus I needed a break from this story, not only to make sure this chapter got done right, but because I needed to feel inspired to write again and I just needed a break from this story all together to work on my other posted and not yet posted stories. PLEASE FORGIVE ME AND MY SELFISH NEEDS! ENJOY!**

Chapter 42: The Day The Earth Moved!

*Aria's POV*

I was woken up by loud knocking.

"'Groans.' Who is it?" I groaned out.

"It's your Uncle Fred." I heard. I rolled over and looked at my clock. 7 am.

"Uncle Fred~ it's 7 am. No school remember?" I whined out as I tried to go back to sleep. I heard my door open and groaned again.

"Time to wake up." He said as I groaned.

"Why.~" I whined out. This is what happens when I'm forced to wake up early. I whine, groan, pout, become childish and sometimes have a temper.

"Do you know what day it is?" He asked me.

"Monday, two days after Archie and I got kidnapped by the sea monster and the day after the cave was filled in to trap her and spring break still." I said as I started to lull back to sleep.

"Yes, but it's also the first day of spring." He told me.

"If you want me up for the Andrews tradition it's for boys only. Remember?" I told him in annoyance.

"Yes, well, I thought you'd like to participate this year." He told me.

"I'm not wearing a kilt." I told him.

"Girls wear tartans, not kilts." He told me.

"I'm not wearing plaid." I flat out told him as I pulled the blanket over me.

"Please. It took me a long time to find one for you." He said to me.

"No." I pouted out childishly.

"It'll make Archie feel better." He added in.

"No." I said in the same tone again.

"It's tradition." He told me as he started to get a bit more strict.

"Still no." I said in the same tone. I then felt the blankets get ripped off me.

"Gak!" I yelled out as I shot up and glared at him.

"Aria Beatrice Andrews you will get out of bed, put this tartan on and join us downstairs in 10 minutes. Do I make myself clear." My uncle said sternly. I shuttered when he used my middle name. I hated it so much. We stared each other down before I sighed, giving up.

"Fine." I muttered out as I reached over and grabbed the tartan from him. I was going to hate this so~ much. In case you're wondering, a tartan is a Scottish girl skirt that reaches the ankles, plaid most of the time meaning red and green, in short it's like a kilt and a school girl skirt combined but longer. It even had a sash to tie around. Oh joy. I put it on with white socks, the Scottish girl shoes I got and my black kiss tee shirt I had lying around. I put my hair up, did my eyes quickly, put in silver studs and rushed downstairs. I snickered at Archie in the kilt.

"Shut it." Archie said as I tried to hold back more snickers.

"Can I grab a peach before leaving?" I asked.

"Yes." Uncle Fred said. I quickly grabbed a peach before walking out the door and into Archie's car with them. We soon drove off to the historical run down part of Riverdale. Once we got there Archie and I were miserable while Uncle Fred looked happy that both of us were here and continuing this tradition, especially since he had to do this by himself last year. We walked up to the historical building with a bell on it.

"There it is you two. The Andrews' have been ringing that bell for over one hundred years." Uncle Fred said as he looked up at the bell tower with pride.

"How come dad hasn't been here for this?" I asked him all of a sudden. I know for a fact dad never came here and did this, at least not since he moved to the city anyways.

"Well, both my brother and sister don't live here in Riverdale and, since this is usually a tradition for the boys, Vivian decided, after getting married and losing her husband but still kept the Andrews name, decided against it and decided not to show Alistair and Tianna this and left it to me for Archie. As for your father, well, once he left he almost completely cut all ties with us. Actually, the only reason how I found out you were born was through my father, Artie Andrews." He told me all this as Archie and I stood in wonder. They weren't supposed to know about me?

"Is that why dad won't let me see grandpa?" I asked him. He nodded his head yes.

"Anyhow, since you'll be staying with us, I figured it'd be nice to keep this up with _both_ of you instead of just Archie." He told me.

"You do realize that, unless I keep my last name, I'd take on my future husband's right?" I asked as a reminder.

"Don't remind me." He said in a slightly bitter tone. Did he not want me to get married? Naw, I think it's because he doesn't want to think about the day I grow up and live on my own. Uncle Fred always _did_ view me as a daughter he never had ever since the day he met me.

"Skipping all this, can we just ring the bell already?" Archie asked in a sour mood.

"I think there's more too it than that." I said while we walked up to Uncle Fred up the stairs to the old building. It looked like it could be a town hall at one point in time.

"She's right Archie, There's more to it than that. For example, We have to recite this poem while dancing a jig, like this." He said before handing Archie an old scroll. Right after he handed it to him he started doing a Scottish dance. I giggled at the sight if it. How could I not? It looked like he had a wedgie he was trying to undo while trying not to burn his feet on the hot sand. Archie was marvelling at the scroll so I decided to take a peak. Archie started reading it but since he was mumbling I couldn't hear him and he wouldn't let me see it.

"Archie.~ I wanna see.~" I said to him.

"Here." He said as he handed me the rolled up parchment. I unrolled the parchment and gave it a look over, remembering the poem instantly, before looking up. When I did I saw that Uncle Fred had Archie dancing the jig with him. Once I saw Archie smiling I couldn't stop laughing.

"It hurts! 'Laugh' Too 'Laugh' Funny." I said as I kept laughing. I was laughing so hard my stomach started hurting, I was crying and I squeaked at the end of my laughs and when I breathed in.

"I hadn't seen you laugh that hard since the time I dressed up as Superman and jumped off the shed to fly but fell in that mud puddle." Archie said to me. I then remembered that back when we were 4 years old and started laughing again.

"I remember! 'Laugh' You 'Laugh' Swallowed 'Squeak' Mud!" I said as I laughed even harder than before. I actually fell on the ground. Actually, I rolled down the stairs from laughing so hard.

"Aria!" I heard.

"You alright?" I heard again. I finally stopped laughing and looked up with a smile.

"Yeah, why?" I asked them.

"You rolled down the steps, that's why." Uncle Fred said. I looked and noticed the stairs in front of me.

"Huh. I didn't feel a thing. Weird." I said as I stood up.

"We should continue, and you're joining us young lady." Uncle Fred said as we made our way up the stairs and back to out spot to start. We started dancing and chanting the poem. It was fun. We didn't notice the eyes that were watching us from a far.

"Oh, uh, hi. I know this must look sorta strange to you guys." I heard Archie say. I looked over and saw Betty, Veronica and Jughead had seen us. Oh gosh no. Once I saw Jughead I turned beat red and hid behind a pillar.

*Not good. Not good not good not good!* I squeaked in my mind. I love my heritage but this was ridiculous really. I'm embarrassed because of the dance and me wearing this ugly tartan. Yuck.

"Hey, wasn't Aria just with you?" I heard Betty suddenly ask. I tensed up. Why couldn't I just stay home?

*Maybe I can sneak to the car?* I thought to myself.

"I thought you looked cute up there." I suddenly heard Jughead whisper in my ear. I jumped into plain sight as I shrieked loudly.

"Jughead Jones I told you to stop sneaking up on me like that! Jimmy does that enough to me!" I yelled out as I held my right hand over my pounding heart. I was now taking deep breaths to try and calm myself.

"Aw, I'm sorry. I didn't think I'd scare you, I thought you heard me." He said as he came over to me. Now I was turning red from embarrassment. I didn't feel like looking at him or any of them.

"We can explain all of this." Archie started to say.

"Forget it Arch. Whatever you, your father and your cousin do on your time is completely up to you. Besides, were here on a mission to save old town." Betty told us all of a sudden.

"Save it?" I questioned. Jughead then had his arm wrapped around me, guided me to Archie and turned us around as he pointed at the bell tower.

"Look." He said. We looked and was the bell that we were supposed to ring was being lowered down. My uncle stopped doing the jig and looked as well.

"Are they tearing this town down instead of preserving the history?" I asked them. I had seen this happen in the city a twice in my life and both times were really sad.

"Yes, condemning it to tear it down and build a new mall." Betty said in an upset/angered tone. Veronica then perked up.

"You didn't tell me they we're building a new mall." Se said before she got an upset look and pointed a finger at Betty.

"That changes everything." Veronica added.

"No, it doesn't. We don't need a new mall in reality and, even if we did, it could be built some place else where it's more efficient and less historic. This place has history for the Andrews, and I'm sure many more, so I'm willing to sign it and try to help out anyway I can." I said with a smile as I grabbed the petition and pen from Betty and signed my name on it. I looked up and saw them taking the Bell away.

"When I think of old town, I think of lemon drops." Jughead said as he fantasied about lemon drops.

"Lemon drops?" We all questioned.

"Yeah~ you're gonna have to walk me through this one." I said to him in total confusion.

"You won't know this Aria but do the rest of you remember Old Town's Candy Store? Mmm. They sold the best lemon drops around." Jughead exclaimed happily. Seriously, how could you _not_ love Jughead and his passion for food.

"That's right. I even remember being a kid at the Old Town Spring Festival." Betty said as she smiled and held her hands together. That must've been fun for all of them. I don't really remember having fun like that. I remember saving money so I could go to the arcade a few times and usually the park, museum or library whenever I could go and the one time I went to the Bronx zoo but that's it. I bet they all had loads of fun at places like that.

"Where an Andrews would always ring that bell." Uncle Fred added as I tried to picture all of this. I couldn't. I tried to push the sadness and jealousy away. We then heard a ding as we looked over at the bell being taken away.

"At least they're preserving the bell at the museum." Betty said to us. One good thing at least.

"So much for our family tradition." Uncle Fred said as we saw the truck, with the bell inside of it, drive away. He then turned to us.

"Well you two, I'm heading home to morn the forgotten dreams of our ancestors." Uncle Fred said in a sad tone before walking away from us. I didn't know what to do. What could we do?

"So Archie? When did you and your dad start wearing skirts?" Jughead joked around a he went behind Archie and put his hands on Archie's shoulders from behind as he snickered.

"It's a kilt, not a skirt. It's a scottish tradition for boys and men." I scolded Jughead.

"Then what are you wearing?" Betty asked me.

"It's a tartan. _This_ is a scottish girl's skirt." I said as I looked at it.

"It's ugly, but part of my heritage." I said as I sighed. That's when it happened. An earthquake. As the ground shook I heard a strange growling sound. It was over as soon as it started though. Betty and Veronica held onto each other as they sat on their knees, Archie and Jughead used each other to balance and I managed to stay standing as I kept my feet firm on the ground.

"What was that?" Veronica asked in a scared tone.

"I'd say it was an earthquake." Betty said with worry.

"I don't think so. Earthquakes don't growl." I said as Archie shoved Jughead away from him.

"She's right. I have a feeling this case just turned into a weird mystery." Archie said before I groaned.

"No!~ I'm still recovering from the last one.~" I whined out. I was tired of all of these mysteries. I wanted normal for one week after the last one before hopping back into it, not one day!

"She's right Archie-kins, not another one of your weird mystery things." Veronica agreed with me.

"Don't you remember what we learned last year in geology class?" Archie asked us. I did. Jughead slowly started thinking. I know exactly what he was thinking.

"Yeah, stay far away from the rock tumbler." Jughead said as I giggled.

"I warned you not to stick your head in it. But that's not what Archie's getting at." I told him these things.

"It's not?" Jughead asked.

"No." I said while shaking my head.

"The plates. The earth has plates that shift, but where we're located, those plates don't exist so we shouldn't _have_ earthquakes. I think something is tunnelling underground and I hope to the heavens I'm wrong about something tunnelling underground." I said as I prayed, sighed, hoped and groaned about it. I'm usually right and I hate it when I am when it comes to the weird mysteries. I then thought about something.

"I know the right guy with equipment, and brains with a cute smile, who can help us out." I said as I thought about Dilton. I lightly sighed with a smile on my face.

"Hey.~ What about me?~" Jughead whined in a childish manner. I giggled at that.

"Archie? Can you bring Dilton here with his equipment? And girls, I think you should get out of here, while it's safe, and get more people to sign." I said with a smile.

"It'd be easier if you came with us, with you around we'd have 10 of these signed." Betty commented and complimented me.

"As great as that is I think I should stay here and examine the area to see what's up before anything bad happens." I commented.

"Good idea. And I'll stay right by you." Jughead said as he started walking over to me. Archie grabbed him and yanked him backwards before dragging him to the car.

"Oh no you don't. After the last make out session you two had, I'm not leaving you two alone again." Archie said as they reached the car.

"But Arch-" Jughead started to say before getting shoved in the car.

"Don't but Arch me." Archie said as he got in the car, started it up, and drove off to get Dilton.

"What was he talking about? What make out session?" Betty asked me as me face and the tip of my ears went beat red.

"Um, well. The night Jughead did the surprise dinner and dancing night we, um, well, kinda sorta, um, WeMadeOutOnTheCouchAndItWasIntenseAlright!" I was so embarrassed and stumbled my words that I blurted the last sentence together quickly. Betty was blushing lightly now while Veronica had a look of disgust.

" _How_ can you make out with _Jughead?_ " Veronica asked me with that look of disgust still on her face.

"Because I care for him." I said to her.

"Even though you did that with Dilton too." Betty teased me as I blushed again. The one time I made out with Dilton Betty walked in and, well, yeah. Embarrassment. She accidentally told Archie too so he's been watching me like an over protective brother now.

"Really? Dilton too?" Veronica asked me in a surprised tone.

"Oh please! Archie has done that with both of you at one time or another and I know he has." I said in a flustered tone. Now it was there turn to start blushing.

"We're, um, gonna go get more signatures now." Betty said as Veronica nodded her head in agreement. We soon parted ways as I looked around Old Town. I wish I could've seen it in it's glory days. I remember Dilton moved into a nicer house, two story with an above ground basement, bigger driveway and a huge back yard. They were a bit of a ways away from people and in the semi nicer area, like where Reggie lives and almost where Ronnie lives, and it's still close to the school to where he can walk with no problems. I remember Archie brought me there so he shouldn't get lost. Hopefully. I continued looking around when I felt another earthquake. I held my ground as it soon passed. I waited a little bit before walking again.

*Maybe I should head back now.* I thought as I head back to the Old Town Hall area, and just in time too. I smiled when I saw Dilton setting up his equipment and explaining it to Archie. I bolted over to them.

"Dilton!" I shouted out. He turned and saw me as he smiled. He stood up but then gave me a weird look. I stopped and looked at him.

"You're wearing a kilt too?" He asked me. I realized what he meant and sighed with an annoyed look on my face.

"It's not a kilt like Archie's, it's a tartan. An actual skirt." I said as I groaned. Why did Uncle Fred put me in this? That's when Jughead sneezed. After he sneezed the ground began to shake. Once it was over Dilton and I bent down to look at the readings. This was incredible.

"I just detected another earthquake." Dilton said to them.

"It's readings are off the chart. There's _no way_ this is a normal earthquake." I added in as Dilton nodded his head in agreement. Then Jughead blew his nose.

"Chill guys, it was just one of Jughead's sneezes." Archie said as Jughead continued to blow his nose.

"I doubt it Arch." I told him sceptically. I then thought about it.

"Archie? Does Uncle Fred know we're still here?" I asked him. Archie's face went from confused to shocked in 2.5 seconds.

"I'll be right back." Archie said in a small panic before rushing over to a near by pay phone. After a bit we decided to go over and wait for him. Jughead was leaning against the phone booth while Dilton was examining the soil. I was just rocking back and forth from my toes to the balls of my heels just waiting. I didn't bring my lucky back pack with me so I had no music and so there was boredom. Archie soon got off the phone.

"Did you know that, some point in history, Riverdale's soil was as rich as a compost heap?" Dilton asked Archie specifically.

"No. But what does that have to do with the earthquakes?" Archie asked him.

"Maybe nothing." Dilton said as he stood up and removed the dirt from his hand.

"Maybe everything." He added in as he had a familiar look on his face. The thinking look.

"Dilton, if the soil was rich at one point, then that would mean a huge amount of worms helped make that possible." I said as all three looked at me.

"What do ya mean?" Archie asked me.

"Worms have a special ability to make dirt rich like compost, hence why it's good for them to be in a garden. But it shouldn't be possible." I said to them.

"Why not?" Archie asked me. I sighed and closed my eyes.

"Hundreds of thousands of worms live in the ground so there would have to be billions to make this ground rich." I told him.

"But there wouldn't be back then." Archie pointed out.

"Very good Archie, unless they died off and left the ground rich for a long while or there's a giant worm living underground that we have no knowledge about." I said to him. I could tell, without opening my eyes, they all gave me funny looks.

"You've been watching to many monster movies with Jughead. There _can't be_ a giant worm underground." Archie said to me. I opened my eyes and looked at him.

"There shouldn't be sea monsters, giant girls and bugs, super heroes and super villains, werewolves, vampires, monsters, ghosts, aliens, demons, love bugs, Jack Frost, Santa Clause, people and monsters coming out of movies, mummies coming to life and living puppets either and yet we encountered them all. Who knows what kind of weirdness will happen in this town." I countered right at him.

"She does have a point, with us, there _i_ s _no_ normal." Jughead agreed with me.

"Not helping." Archie glared at him and scolded.

"As much as I want to agree with you Aria, I have to side with Archie on this one." Dilton said to me.

"Thank you." Archie said with a small smile. I looked at him and shrugged.

"That's fine. Everyone has there own opinion on things." I said before walking over to the machines. The boys joined me as we looked at the machine giving off waves.

'Achoo.'

Jughead sneezed again.

"Bless you." I said to him.

"It must be something I ate." Jughead said before the ground started shaking violently again. We all screamed a bit. It was worse than before. Jughead and Archie held each other for support and Dilton and I clung onto the light post to hold ourselves up.

"What's happening Dilton?" Archie yelled out.

"Either old town is riddled with a vast amount of fault lines." Dilton started as he held on tighter.

"Or I'm right and something is alive and moving underground!" I yelled out as we held on tighter. In a few seconds everything stopped, even the machine stopped beeping. I looked over just to see Archie and Jughead let go of each other and face the opposite way in slight awkwardness and folded arms over their chests.

"Hey, it stopped." Archie said. I inwardly groaned as he stated the obvious. It was now silent, wait. Silent? I looked to where the machine was and it was gone. How was it gone? There was a hole. It that why?

"It must've only been a temp-" Dilton started to say but was cut off.

"Dilton, I think he meant the machine." I said as I bent down and examined the hole where it used to be. We then heard the other one go off so we looked to our rights and saw it, and a lamp post, sinking into the ground before disappearing.

"I think that rolls out earthquakes." Archie said in mild shock.

"You know, I _really_ hate it when I'm right." I muttered out as I sighed. Why did I have to be right?

"Yes, it seems were dealing with-" Dilton started talking when I noticed the ground was caving in.

"Dilton! Watch out!" I shouted as I pushed him out of the way, and just in time, just as the spot he was standing on caved in.

"We need to go! Now!" I shouted out as I pulled Dilton up. We saw a trail of dirt ruffling up and ran straight to the car. We were urging Archie to hurry but I looked behind us and saw no escape.

"We have to run! Now!" I said as I hopped out of the car just as it started sinking. The guys jumped out and we ran. We stopped and looked as we saw the rest of the car sink into the ground.

"What _was_ that?" Archie asked in pure shock.

"We won't know without proper data." Dilton stated as I looked at the hole.

"What are you going to tell Uncle Fred?" I asked Archie, referring to the car. Archie groaned. He didn't know.

"Dilton? If you need a sample then I'll get it." I said as I ran over to the hole. I could hear them calling for me but I ignored them. I bent down and examined the hole but found no traces of anything. Then I saw red.

"Oh no." I said in a high pitched scared voice. I backed up and stayed low to the ground just in time to see Archie's smashed up car get tossed out and over by the guys. I got up and ran after the running guys. This wasn't good. We stopped by the phone booth and rested.

"Okay, so it won't eat cars, it's attracted to sound, it lives under ground, I still say it's a gigantic mutated worm." I panted out.

"What were you _thinking?!_ " Archie yelled out quietly to me as he, too, was trying to catch his breath.

"All in the name of science." I said to him as I stood up straight. Man I was a bit out of shape.

"That's still no excuse." Archie said to me.

"It actually is. Only Dilton and I would go to it, Jughead would back out, and you might not have." I said logically.

"She's actually correct Archie." Dilton pointed out.

"She's _definitely_ right." Jughead agreed.

"You two are _not_ helping." Archie scolded them.

"We need to get to higher ground, more specifically the roof of a building. The ground isn't safe." I said in a low voice as we looked around. We heard it coming.

"Stand still, don't move and don't make a sound. It'll pass us if it thinks we're not here." I told them.

"You want us to stand here?" Archie freaked.

"She's right. We can't outrun this thing." Dilton agreed.

"I hope you two are right, 'cause here it comes." Jughead said in a panic. I reached over and held his hand in comfort to calm him as whatever was underground soon passed us and went a few feet before stopping. We were in the clear. Well, until Jughead sneezed. It turned around and came right for us.

"Sorry guys." Jughead said to us.

"May I suggest a decongestant." Dilton said towards Jughead.

"Talk later. Think of a plan now." I said in a small panic. It look like the end for us until.

'Ring'

The pay phone started ringing. The worm creature, because I'm pretty sure that's what it is, stopped in front of us.

'Ring'

The pay phone kept ringing. It turned left towards the pay phone instead. Then the phone booth started sinking.

"Quick, while it's eating." Dilton said before we bolted.

"Quick, town hall, top floor!" I shouted as we made our way into Old Town's Town Hall and up all the way to the bell tower.

"We're safe for the moment." Archie said as we all looked down at the circling worm.

"But for how long?" I asked in worry.

*Time skip to a few hour later.*

This was horrible. We were stuck up here with no way out. And I needed to use the bathroom badly. Thanks to Jughead and myself we had some candy bars and chips to snack on along with some water to drink. We were all tired though.

"We may spend the rest of our lives in this tower." Archie commented as he was back to back with Dilton on the floor, Jughead was laying down and I was leaned up against the wall.

"Not true Arch. We'd most likely die from dehydration and/or starvation so 3 days minimum, 23 days max." I commented to him. Archie glared at me.

"What?" I asked him. It _was_ true.

"I wonder if Pop Tate will deliver out here." Jughead said as I lightly giggled. Then we heard a horn honking. Oh no!

"Maybe that's him now!" Jughead exclaimed happily as we went over to the railing to see who it was.

"Oh no! It's the girls!" Archie said as he referred to Betty and Veronica.

"The creature will be attracted to the noise!" Dilton said with a look of fear on his face. This wasn't good. The guys started warning the girls while I snuck out. I had to stop them. I had to do something. I got down there and saw the worm going to the girls as they started driving this way. I found a metal pipe and used it to start banging on the metal light post. The worm went right over to it and started eating it. I made my move towards the girls. I flagged them down.

"Turn the car off!" I yelled at them as they parked.

"Why?" Betty asked me as I reached over and turned it off.

"Hey!" Veronica yelled out as I covered her mouth.

"Quiet. There's a giant creature under this town and no I'm not joking at all. It smashed Archie's car and ate a phone booth." I told them just as we felt the ground lightly shake.

"Stay here and stay quiet." I said as I slipped out of the car and saw the worm heading this way. I went over to another light post and banged loudly on it again. It trailed away from them and went right for me. I moved away just as the post started sinking. I ran over to the car.

"We gotta go. Now." I said to them. They listened and soon we started the car and drove to the town hall. The thing started following us.

"Ronnie! Drive faster!" I told her. She complied and sped up. We saw the boys making a bunch of noise as we got closer.

"Stop the car and turn it off. Trust me!" I yelped out. Ronnie did it and we stayed quiet. The worm went around us and right at them. They ran off as I hopped out.

"Get ready!" I yelled as I ran to a different area. The girls drove to get the guys as I started making noise by banging on a light pole.

"Hey worm! Wormy wormy! Over here! Free lunch!" I yelled out to the top of my lungs. I saw it coming this way. I held my ground and continued banging the pole until it was practically under me. I dropped the pipe and ran to where the car would be. I could hear the pole sinking as the car pulled up. I darted inside and we drove off. The worm started following us.

"You've GOT to be KIDDING ME!" I screamed out in rage as they saw it following us.

"We have to get out of here." Betty said as I thought about it.

"Not town. This thing will follow us there and destroy/devour the whole town!" I yelped out.

"Head outside of town. I've got an idea!" Archie said as Ronnie drove us outside of town.

"Faster! It's gaining!" I yelled out.

"Cliff!" Archie yelled out. I looked over and saw the cliff. We all screamed as we rounded the sharp corner, praying we didn't flip. I looked and saw it rounded with us.

"What are we gonna do? We can't keep running from this thing!" I yelled out in fear. I was actually afraid, something rare for me, as it got closer.

"I got a plan!" Archie then announced.

"About time!" I said as it was hot on our tail.

"We've got to bail out!" Archie said. Say what now? Did he say what I think he just said?

"But my car!~" Ronnie whined.

"Do you want to live to shop some more!" I yelled at her.

"You're right." She admitted. That did the trick.

"Everybody. One." He started as he was already ready to jump.

"Two." We all got ready to jump.

"Three!" He yelled as we all jumped. I hit the ground with a small thud, avoiding the rocks, and watched the car go over. We soon saw a giant white worm, growling in hunger, going off the cliff and after the car, landing in the water.

"We did it! We vanquished the creature!" Archie cheered as we gathered near the edge of the cliff.

"Well that solved the mystery of the earthquake." Archie said to us.

"Told you it was a giant worm." I said as Archie sighed.

"I _really_ should listen to you more." Archie told me as I smiled at him with a cheeky smile. Veronica got off the phone with her father and we started walking away. Mister Lodge scolded Veronica on the totaled car, blamed Archie somehow and drove all of us home. Archie explained what happened to the car, which Uncle Fred didn't believe him and grounded him, and Archie and I went and checked out books at the library. Now it was night time, Archie was reading in the back yard while I got us some drinks, and when I got back I saw him and Betty talking.

"What's up?" I asked her as I gave Archie his drink.

"Archie won't sign my petition." Betty said to me.

"Because I've been doing some research about any legends on the worm creature." Archie defended himself.

"Alright, I'm curious. What'd ya find?" I asked him. I hated putting Betty on the sidelines like this but I had to know.

"It says 'back in prehistoric times they would live amongst the richest soil.' and Riverdale had the richest soil around. 'Once a year, the worm makes a pilgrimage back to the land of it's ancestors. Once it hears the song of it's ancestors, it returns to the deep earth for another year.' But we've never _seen_ the worm monster here before." He read off and added in.

*Hm. Our ancestors would sing a chant and ring the town bell once a year, about the same time this worm shows up. I don't think that's a coincident.* I thought. Before I could voice my thoughts though.

"Wait a minute. What about the spring earthquake of the century?" Betty asked. This worm _did_ cause 'earthquakes' sort to speak.

"Huh? What earthquake?" Archie asked her.

"I read some old articles at the museum. That's what I came to old town to tell you before we ran into the super snake." Betty said to us.

"It's a worm, not a snake Betty. Worms don't have bones and-" I was going to explain a bit more when the door opened up.

"Guys. I've been reading my instruments and-" Dilton had been walking over to us and started talking before we felt the ground shake. Uh oh. Not again!

"Yup! The monster's back!" Dilton told us. I then smacked my forehead.

"Of course! Worms don't drown! They can but not quickly anyhow. They take oxygen through the water and that giant worm monster could probably last days until it found a cliff to dig through!" I explained. Man did I feel stupid.

"Are you kidding me?!" Archie all but shouted. I shook my head no.

"How are we supposed to get rid of it?" Betty asked in a panic.

"Our ancestors chant! Archie, I was thinking, what if our chant and the ringing of the Old Town bell was the worm's ancestors song that keeps it at bay every year?" I asked him about it.

"It's no coincident than. We need to get that bell and bring it to Old Town." Archie concluded. We knew what we had to do. We rushed into town on foot, since Archie's car was totalled, and hurried to the museum to grab the bell and sing the chant while ringing it. When we rushed into town though, well, everything was getting destroyed and a few cars were dragged under ground.

"This is you're fault Andrews!" I heard. I looked and saw Reggie and Veronica were hidden behind a mail drop box as Reggie decided to get in Archie's face about it.

"You're stupid worm ruined our date!" Reggie yelled at him. Oh boy.

" _My_ worm? Why is it _my_ worm?" Archie asked him in slight anger as they got in each other's face. I split them apart.

"We don't have time for this!" I scolded them.

"You're to blame just as much as him Doll Face." Reggie suddenly added.

"Excuse me?" I asked him with attitude now.

"You heard me. All the Andrews are at blame for this!" Reggie yelled out. My face went red with anger.

"You listen here you jerk!" I screamed out as I pointed a finger at him and got in his face before continuing.

"We, Andrews, have been keeping this town _**safe**_ from this worm for centuries. _Centuries!_ And without us this town would not be here today! Now it's part of our heritage and tradition and I'm not going to let some brainless, spineless, egotistical Neanderthal stand in our way nor blame us for saving this town when we don't have to at all!" I yelled out before shoving him to the ground and glared at him.

"Now, you can either sit there or help us out and be considered a hero with all of us!" I shouted at him before grabbing Archie and continued down to the museum.

"Who would have figured that The first day of spring would be our last. 3/21." Dilton said to us.

"That's why I'm **positive** our family poem, as stupid as Archie thinks it is, has something to do with it." I explained to them.

"3/21 is in the poem!" Archie concluded.

"Yup!" I said as I tried not to make a sarcastic remark.

"How does the rest go?" Dilton asked us.

"Tintinnabulation, at 3/21, will cease the sensation, and the deed will be done." I said, remembering the poem I read.

"The sensation must be the worm's earthquakes." Archie mused in thought.

"Exactly! When we ring the bell, the tintinnabulation, it's the ancestral song that calms the worm, while our poem, reminds us why we do this in Riverdale every year on 3/21. That's why tradition is important, no matter how stupid it may seem." I told him. I could tell without even looking that he had a look of slight guilt on his face about telling Uncle Fred he didn't want to do this.

"I didn't want to do it this year." Archie mumbled as we went inside the museum.

"It's alright. I understand. No one really knew about it. I'm sure Uncle Fred didn't know either." I explained to him as we made it to the bell. Veronica talked to the people in the museum and allowed us to take the bell. Jughead and Dilton took the front end while Reggie took the back end of the pole that the bell was attached to while Archie and I walked on each side of it and got ready to ring the bell when needed. We saw the worm and…...Uncle Fred?

"Oh no!" I yelped out. I began ringing the bell and made it sound rhythmic like it was being rung by pulling on the rope. Then Archie and I began the chant.

"Tintinnabulation, at 3/21, will cease the sensation, and the deed will be done." We chanted. The worm was right in front of Uncle Fred, ready to devour him, when both perked up at the sound of the bell ringing. We got closer to where they could see us. Archie and I continued the chant while I rang the bell while the worm Rose up. Then it began to howl, as if it were singing, and wiggled around, almost as if it were dancing, as we smiled in joy.

"It's working!" Dilton exclaimed as the worm continued before diving into the ground, back into the deeper parts until next spring. Once it was gone I stopped ringing the bell as Uncle Fred came right up to Archie.

"Son, I'm proud that you carried on the tradition. Oh! And that you saved the town as well." He complimented him. Seriously? Thanking only Archie? I then saw Uncle Fred walk over and hug me too.

"And thank you Aria, for showing you're support, dedication, interest and respect for our tradition and being apart of it for the 1st time as well as being the only girl to be part of this tradition. Oh! And for helping save the town too." He said as he pulled away from the hug. That's better. I smiled at him and felt tears well up.

"It's good to be a part of my family's tradition." I said as I wiped the unshed tears away. I looked over and saw Archie, finally, signing Betty's petition. Reggie was complaining about how heavy the bell was before he fell backwards and the bell fell next to him. I rolled my eyes with a smile on my face. All of us worked together to bring the bell back into the museum, where Veronica and Mr. Lodge were waiting for us, and Uncle Fred and Mister Lodge worked out a deal for us to take out the bell every spring to take to Old Town, ring it while chanting the poem and then return it. Uncle Fred then brought us home so we could get started on our article.

"I thought I'd be a real doofus for carrying on our family tradition. I guess if I had taken the time to learn the meaning behind the tradition, I would've realized how important it was to keep the history of our family alive. ~Archie. It's nice to be a part of a family tradition. After all, who knows what evil lurks beneath the surface, and what silly traditions might save us from that evil. ~Aria. All I know for sure is that next spring we've got a date with a worm. ~Archie…...In a little town called Riverdale! ~Archie & Aria!"

We finished the article and I smiled happily.

"I can finally get out of this Tartan." I commented as I looked at it. Plaid was not my style at all.

"I see why girls wear skirts now at least." Archie commented teasingly. I grabbed his pillow and threw it at him.

"Yeah yeah. Laugh it up mud eater." I commented.

"I was four! And I fell in the mud! I could've been hurt!" He yelled out.

"Well that's your fault for liking Superman." I commented.

"Yeah, but at least I didn't break the chandelier off the ceiling thinking it was a good idea to be BatGirl and use rope with a hook on it to swing from the banister with." He commented back.

"How was I supposed to know it would break?!" I commented back as both a question and a statement. We glared at each other before we smiled and broke out laughing.

"Aunt Mary and Uncle Fred were so~ mad at us." I laughed out.

"Yeah. At least we didn't break any bones." He laughed back.

"And at least we had fun." I commented back.

"Though we didn't get ice cream for a week after that." He commented as we both laughed a bit longer before sighing. That was probably one of the best moments in my childhood. We wished each other good night before I head off to my room, changed into my pajamas, called Allegro onto the bed with me and fell asleep.


	44. Chapter 43

**HEY PEEPS! Sorry I haven't posted in a while. My job had me working over time and I got sick. How sick? Hospital sick man. I was at the hospital the late night of Sunday, December 3rd, had surgery the afternoon of Monday, December 4th, and was in the hospital trying to recover until Saturday, December 9th, around the evening time. I just started work Tuesday, December 19th, at midnight so yeah. I had my appendix removed, had to wait 15 hours, threw up blood, last 2 hours was with no pain killers until the surgery so I was in horrible pain, no fever until after surgery and if they had made me wait an hour longer I would've died. That would mean no more fanfiction for you guys from me...EVER! But I lived. I lost 4 lives and still have 5 left. Sorry for lack of update and the small scare. Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Happy Kwanzaa! Happy New Year! And Happy Holidays in general!**

Chapter 43: Extra Terror-Estrials!

*Aria's POV*

It was now Tuesday night, a day after the worm incident, at the top of the peak, looking over Riverdale and in front of the woods, showing off a clear sky. Spring break, while normally lasting only a week along with the weekends so 10 days the longest, lasted two weeks here in Riverdale, or 16 days total. We were outside on the clear night to do our astronomy homework. Lame, I know, but it's the only homework we have and we were told this would be the best night to have it because of certain stars that become visible, certain planet alignments and I read there might be a comet coming this way tonight. _Might!_ It's a very small chance. Dilton was on a trip for the next four days with his mom and dad so I couldn't see him tonight but I got to see him this morning at least. Plus, I get to see Jughead tonight. Archie was next to Ronnie, looking up at the sky, Betty was setting up the telescope and I was with Jughead, in the car, looking up at the sky. I rested my head on his shoulder with a sigh. (For those who wonder about her hight, she's half a head shorter than both Archie and Jughead. They all seem to be the same hight to be honest so, yeah. She only looks taller, like Betty and Ronnie do, because of heels.) I pointed out a star constellation to him and he smiled.

"Which one is that?" He asked me.

"If I remember correctly, then it's Scorpio." I told him with a smile.

"I love it how you're so smart." He told me as I giggled in response.

"You're smart too." I pointed out. For girls, Betty and I are the smartest in the school, for the boys, Jughead and Dilton were the smartest. It was actually impressive. Jughead offered me a jelly bean and I nodded. He tossed it and I caught it in my mouth. I was wearing my original outfit with my awesome corset like chocker on, that I thought was lost, as I caught another jellybean.

"These are good." I commented as he tossed me another.

"The best in Riverdale." He replied as he ate a few. I could hear Betty comment on the stars she calls heavenly bodies and I heard Archie agree but knew he was talking about Ronnie. I nearly gagged at hearing that. Jughead chuckled and pulled me close to him.

"I know I see one right next to me." Jughead whispered the comment softly in my ear before nibbling on the lobe. I giggled and pushed him away while I grew a blush.

"Jughead. Archie might scold us again." I whispered lightly as he suddenly pulled me closer.

"He's to busy to notice." He said to me before kissing my cheek.

"Betty? Can Jughead and I eat the rest of you're jelly beans? I'll replace them." I asked her.

"Great balls of fire!" She said in surprise.

"Alright, alright, we'll save you some." Jughead commented back.

"No! Not the candy. There's a ball of fire." She exclaimed. We looked up and, sure enough, it was a ball of fire. I jumped up and moved myself to stare at it.

"Cool." I said as Betty mentioned, because of it's movements, it could be a space ship. Archie hopped in the car and began the weird mystery article before I realized something.

"Um, I think it's heading this way." I said as my excitement turned into a massive amount of worry. I was right, but it didn't crash where we were. Instead, it barely flew over us and landed a ways away. Soon, everything was packed up and we went on our way. The road was bumpy.

"They don't build roads like this anymore, and you really can't blame them." Jughead commented as I giggled at the joke. We got there and it was, indeed, a spaceship.

"Reporter sense tingling." Archie soon mumbled. All 5 of us stepped out of the car and surrounded the one side of the ship. It was, small, yellow and kinda reminded me of the ship stitch had from Lilo and Stitch.

"Tick~ tock,~ tick~ tock.~" Jughead said in a creepy tone. I lightly smacked his arm.

"Seriously? I bet that's scaring Veronica." I told him.

"It is!" She whined out.

"So what do we do?" Betty asked.

"We open it!" Archie and I said at the same time. We looked at each other with a smile before walking over to the ship, determined to open it. Veronica runs over and stops Archie.

"No Archie! Don't! What if there's an alien with eight arms and a face like guacamole?" she asks him in fear. I rolled my eyes at her.

"Then we shake all eight hands and serve him chips." I say as I open the hatch. Everyone freaked out except me. I cleared the smoke and looked inside.

"No! I'm allergic to ugly." Veronica whined while I rolled my eyes. I went inside and saw an adorable little alien. It kinda looked like an albino orangutan creature.

"Aw!~ He's adorable!" I said as I opened the lid and helped him out. I carried him out and laid him down on the ground. I could feel he was breathing so I knew he was alive. I heard everyone aw as well.

"See Ronnie, he's not ugly." Archie said to her.

"He seems to just be sleeping." I commented as I made sure there were no wounds on him.

"Aw, he looks like a sweet little angel. Don't you just want to hug him?" Betty asked as she rubbed his cheek.

"Maybe later. Right now, he needs help. That landing must've knocked the stuffing out of him." Archie said with worry. Something wasn't right. He looked cute but something was off. I didn't know what though. Maybe it was nothing, but my feelings were usually spot on.

"Aria, Did you hear me?" Betty suddenly said.

"Huh?" I asked. I had spaced out.

"I said help me with him." She told me as I say a blanket over him and some Jelly beans and a bottle of water near him.

"Oh. Right, sure." I said as I bent down to assist. Betty rested his head on her knees, calling herself aunt Betty, while I put some water on my hand and gently rubbed it on his forehead. He woke up with a fright and saw Betty.

"Please don't hurt me! I'm innocent I tell you! I didn't do anything wrong!" He shouts out in fright. Now, after watching the twins a lot I know, when something cute claims innocent like that, they did something wrong.

"Shh. Easy fella, you had a little accident. That's all." She tells him as he raised himself up to look at her better.

"Where is this?" He asked softly in a cute little voice.

"You're on earth. Third planet from the sun." I informed him. He looked at me for a moment before looking around.

*I don't trust him.* I think to myself.

"Mind if I ask you a few questions?" Archie asked as he came back over with his laptop and sat down, crossed legged, and opened it up to start typing his article. Oh boy.

"How do you know our language?" He asks.

"Universal translator. Implanted in our heads at birth." The little alien replied. That was actually a smart idea.

"Of course. Brilliant!" Archie marveled as he started typing it all down.

"Do you have a name?" Archie asked him.

"Gleebo." The little creature replied.

"Hi Gleebo. I'm Betty. Here, have some jellybeans." She introduced herself and offers him some jellybeans. I saw Jughead pout and felt bad.

*But they _are_ Betty's.* I thought. She then feeds him one.

"How do you know he likes jellybeans?" Jughead asked as Gleebo chewed and swallowed one down.

"Mmm.~" He said with a smile.

"How can anyone who looks this sweet not like candy?" She asks us. Jughead and I smacked our foreheads at the same time.

"Careful Betty, looks aren't everything." Jughead warns her.

"He's right." I added in. She handed Gleebo the box and he took a handful to eat, then a second, then a third before he looks up at Betty.

"Gleebo likes Jellybeans." He said adorably to Betty.

"See?" She says to both of us. I go over to Jughead and stay by him.

"So he has a sweet tooth. I still think you're jumping to conclusions." Jughead scolded her.

"I agree with Jughead 100%. He might seem cute and sweet but I don't trust him one bit." I say as I fold my arms over my chest.

"Now what do we do with the little guy? Take him to the candy store?" Veronica asked sarcastically.

"No. We have to hide him from those government agents." She tells us.

"What government agents?" Veronica asked her.

"The government agents like the ones from that alien movie." Betty told us.

"Betty, I doubt government agents are after him. Maybe another type of alien, but not our government." I tell her.

"She's right. Intergalactic government after Gleebo." He says in a panic. I smack my forehead and sighed.

"Wonderful. I make an example and I turn out to be right." I say in a low and annoyed voice.

"Well, Betty Copper's not going to let that happen." She says while Gleebo hugs her tightly.

"Fine. But he stays at your house. Allegro will think he's a chew toy or something." I tell her as I made up an excuse to keep him away from me.

"That's fine by me." She says happily as she picks him up and takes him to the car. I sigh as Jughead and I follow. As we got in the car Gleebo used a watch to show us what the two aliens looked like that were hunting him down.

"Those are two ugly spuds." Archie commented as he started the car. The image soon disappeared.

"Anything _that_ ugly, can't be any good." Betty commented.

"Not true Betty. Reggie 'supposedly' has looks and he's a jerk most of the time." I commented before feeling Jughead pull me closer. I look up at him and smiled.

"I said supposedly. You're cuter." I told him as I kissed his cheek. He blushed but smiled, feeling better.

"Yes, very bad. They want to find Gleebo, hurt Gleebo, and take Gleebo away again." He whines out. I rolled my eyes. Is this act really going to-oh crud, Betty's buying it.

"Don't worry, we'll protect you. Right?" Betty said before asking all of us. Archie and Veronica agreed willingly. Sheesh. Then Jughead agreed.

"I'm declining." I flat out tell them all.

"What?!" All four shouted.

"I'm sorry, but this little, Gleebo, is an alien I don't trust one bit." I say to them.

"How can you say that about this adorable little guy?" Betty asks me.

"Because watching the twins enough has taught me looks are deceiving and those two are trouble when they play innocent. I think his innocents is an act and my feelings are not wrong." I tell her my strong opinion.

"Fine. We don't need your help anyways." She scolds me with a huff.

"One more thing please." Gleebo interupted.

"It would really help Gleebo out to find Gleebo some electronic parts." He says. Now my suspicions were on high alert.

"What for?" Archie asks him.

"So Gleebo can phone home." He tells them. Everyone agreed.

"You're all _seriously_ buying into this?" I ask in pure shock.

"He just wants to go home. Relax." Archie tells me.

"He could use his watch for it!" I yell out.

"Gleebo can't call. Watch not work like that." He tells me.

"See? We need to help." Betty tells me. I huff and fold my arms as I glare at the back seat. Something was wrong and I knew it. I just hate it when everyone is against me. We got back and I stormed off to my room. Jughead followed me inside.

"I'm only helping to keep an eye on him. I don't trust him either." He tells me.

"Then you should've defended me Jughead. I felt like even you were turning your back on me." I said as I felt upset.

"I know, and I'm sorry, but I need to show Betty things aren't always as they seem." He explains. I sigh but turn and hug him.

"I understand, but I'm your girlfriend. I'd like for you to support me, even if I'm wrong." I say to him as I tried to calm down. He hugs me tightly.

"I'm sorry Aria, I just don't want Betty hurt either. She's my friend." He tells me.

"I get it." I tell him. He lets me go and kisses me softly.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow alright?" He asks me. I nod my head yes to him. He smiles and goes to Archie for a ride, since Ronnie needs one too, as I go get ready for bed.

*Morning Aria's POV*

I woke up and got ready.

"Allegro! Walkies! Go get your leash!" I tell him as I put on eye liner. Today I wore shorts and my rip tank top I fixed because I had work today. I rushed downstairs and saw Allegro with his leash in his mouth.

"Good boy." I said as I pet his head. I put on my ankle boots and grabbed a few dog treats. I put his leash on and gave him a treat. I grabbed a candy bar and left. I saw Jughead talking to Betty and showing her a box of Jellybeans. Um….Okay? He then came over to me.

"Hey." He greeted as he hugged and kissed me. I hugged and kissed him back before pulling away. I looked and saw the box was empty.

"Teaching her things aren't always what they seem?" I asked him.

"Yeah. Kinda went well." He told me.

"Want to walk with me?" I asked him with a smile.

"Sure. I need to head into town anyways." He tells me as I noticed the list. I looked it over quickly.

"This is what he wants? Are you sure?" I ask him.

"Yeah. A few other things too." He tells me.

"I dunno. These don't seem like parts for a transmitter." I tell him as we started walking.

"Then what are they for?" He asked me.

"I'm not sure actually. It could be anything from a shrink ray, to a machine that can cause a nuclear melt down." I tell him as I try to think.

"If I knew the other parts, would it help?" He asks me.

"Maybe." I say as I sigh.

"I'm not sure actually. Just be careful please." I say to him as I start to eat my candy bar.

"Alright. Will I see you at Pop's later?" He asks me.

"Yeah. I got a full shift into the night. If you see Archie, tell him not to forget to pick me up tonight." I say softly.

"No problem." He says to me. He kisses my cheek and then turns right to head into town while I turn left to go around the block to head back. Once I get back I grab my uniform and put my skates on and rushed to work.

*After work at 9:15 pm*

I helped Pop's clean up and start to close up before he let me go. I thanked him and walked outside. Thank goodness Jughead reminded Archie to get me. I hopped in the car and we drove off as I buckled myself up.

"Thanks for getting me." I say softly to him.

"No problem. Hey, you sure you don't want to help us? We could _really_ use your help." He tells me.

"Yeah Archie, I'm sure. I'm not helping out with whatever bad thing Gleebo is planning." I tell him.

"He's not planning anything bad." Archie tells me.

"Archie! How many times have my feelings been wrong?" I asks him. He tries to tell me but stops talking.

"You can't can you?" I ask him. He keeps quiet.

"Exactly." I tell him.

"He's not bad." Archie tells me. I roll my eyes and sigh in annoyance.

"Fine. Don't listen to me." I say as we get home. I go inside and get ready for bed.

*3 days later 9:27 am Aria's POV*

I wake up really late and rush.

"Crud crud crud!" I whisper out as I hurry down the stairs. I missed a step half way down and tumbled down the stairs.

"Ow. I'm okay." I yell out as I get up and ready. I saw a note telling me Archie was at Betty's. I rolled my eyes and rushed out the door, skates on and a candy bar in my mouth. I only worked half a shift and enjoyed my day. I decided to go back to the ship today and see what clues there where to help me prove Gleebo was bad. Archie refused to take me up to the spot, no surprise there. It took a couple hours and I had to hurry. I was wondering around when I saw two green aliens looking at the ship. They soon spotted me and held their guns up at me.

"Freeze human." The skinny one tells me. I hold up my hands to surrender.

"I want to know what Gleebo did to get you after him." I tell them. They stop and look at each other in confusion before looking at me.

"Why do you want to know?" The bigger one asks me.

"Because I think he's not as innocent as he looks." I tell them. They get closer to me and start to tell me.

"I know you, a human, can't read our patches, but it says Planetary police on it." The skinny one starts off.

"I knew something was off with Gleebo. He's a criminal and was your prisoner. He stole your escape pod there to get away right?" I ask them.

"Right. And he hops from planet to planet, using his cuteness, to steal plutonium and sell it on the black market." The big one tells me. Uh oh.

"There's a nuclear reactor near here that has plenty of that. *Gasp* My boyfriend, friends and cousin think he's innocent and are helping him build a machine! It must be to steal the plutonium. We have to warn them!" I say in a panic.

"You know where he is?" The skinny one asks me.

"Yes. I can take you too him." I tell them. They put the ray guns away and guide me to their ship. We hop in and hurry. I guide them to Betty's just as they we're leaving and getting into Archie's car.

"He's there. Disguised as a kid." I point out to them. They start flying after them until they hit the woods.

"I know where they are going." I tell them. I tell them about the tree house and they land the ship.

"Stay here and don't touch anything." The skinny one tells me.

"Why?" I ask him.

"In case he gets in here without us." They tell me. I understood the plan and hid just in case. It was 20 minutes or so before someone boarded the ship. I looked and saw Gleebo steering the ship suddenly.

*I have to stop him.* I thought as I started to sneak over to him. As I was about to jump him, he turns and hits me with the ray gun. I Fell to the floor and blacked out.

*Archie's POV*

We all felt horrible. They explained everything to us, has us go fix our wrongs and we find out Aria was right. Wait a minute.

"Where's Aria?" I suddenly asked.

"She was on the ship. She's either trying to stop him or he used the sleep gun on her already." The skinny alien tells me.

"Then we _really_ need to hurry!" I yelp out as we hopped in my car and sped off.

"This is my fault. Aria was right and now she could be hurt." Betty said as she tried not to cry.

"It's not your fault Betty. We were all fooled." I tell her.

"I wasn't but I should've stood up for her." Jughead said with sadness.

"You were trying to teach me and I didn't listen at all. I'm sorry Jughead." Betty apologized to him.

"We'll work it out later. We need to hurry." I say as I started speeding. I pulled up just as Gleebo started to wheel out the plutonium.

"Hold it right there Gleebo!" I tell him as I stand up in my car and point my finger at him. He pointed the sleeper gun at me. Then I got hit. I barely saw Jughead and Veronica get hit too before I black out.

*Betty's POV*

Oh no! This was bad! Archie, Veronica and Jughead were out cold and I didn't see Aria anywhere. I sneaked onto the ship and saw her there on the ground. I was mad now. On the way here, I had rigged the jellybean box as a surprise for Gleebo. I started to get Aria up when Gleebo came aboard. He set up when he realized he wasn't alone.

"Who's there?" He asked in a rude tone.

"It's me." I tell him as he sees me near Aria.

"Oh yeah. The dumb blonde. Step out here where I can see you better girly." He orders me. I leave Aria as I grabbed the jellybean box and go over to him.

"What's that?" He asks me in a harsh tone as he pointed the sleeper ray at me.

"I wanted to leave this on your ship and then grab Aria before you left." I tell him.

"What is it? A bomb?" He asks me. I had to keep playing innocent.

"No. It's-" I started to say before he interrupted me.

"Set it down! Right now! Right there!" He orders. I do as he says.

"Now open it! No false moves." He tells me. I open the gift wrapped box to reveal a box of jellybeans.

"Yummy beans!" He shouts with glee and licks his lips.

"I know you like them. I thought you could eat them on your trip." I told him. I heard Aria moan. She was waking up. I stayed on my knees right in front of him though.

"Well how nice. Even though you know I'm a crook, you're still like me. Isn't that just typical." He says rudely to me before grabbing the box.

"Betty?" I heard Aria groan out.

"You know, there's always one gullible creature like you on every planet I've been to, and they just fawn over my cuteness and try very hard to help me out." He tells me as I stand up.

"Well, I'm sorry I fell for your trick." I tell him.

"That's because only a fool judges by appearance. Actually, that girl there, Aria, is the only one to figure me out quickly out of all the planets I've been too. And yet, even though you're her friend, you're still an idiot and ignored her." He says and laughs a bit. I went over to her and helped her up. He then guided us to the door.

"Now, get out of here!" He orders. I take Aria and run off the ship and he fired a warning shot at us. Then the ship door closed as he began to fly off.

*Aria's POV*

After Betty helped me off the ship I saw Gleebo take off.

"Goodbye. Enjoy your jellybeans." I heard Betty say.

"You _still_ gave him something?" I asked as I looked at her. I saw the look on her face and stopped myself from scolding her before smiling.

"You rigged the jellybean box didn't you?" I asked. Before she could answer we heard the ship fly lower. We looked and saw it had a minor crash landing.

"You and Jughead were right. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions like that." She apologized to me. I went over and hugged her.

"Mistakes happen. I'm just glad this could be fixed." I tell her. While Betty checked up on Archie and started to get lovey dovey with him, I woke Veronica and Jughead up. Betty didn't want me waking Ronnie up, which I understand in a way, but I wanted to at _least_ wake Jughead up. When I did, he bolted out of the car and held me close to him.

"Are you alright?" He asks in a panic.

"I'm alright." I tell him as he pulls me as close to him as humanly possible. After a while Ronnie woke up, the girls slightly bickered over Archie, we returned the plutonium and then we all went out to lunch to get everyone's point of view on things. Archie typed half and I typed half before we called it quits. We celebrated our victory and enjoyed the day together. Archie took everyone home before we went home. We had dinner before we went to his room to type up the last part of the Article.

"And so, we returned the stolen plutonium before the workers woke up. The planetary police recaptured Gleebo and returned him to an intergalactic prison. Good thing too. He was a lot of trouble. ~Aria. He thought Betty was just a dumb blonde with some candy. I guess even a cosmic criminal can make a mistake of judging a book by it's cover. ~Archie. And Betty isn't so easily fooled by appearances anymore. Trust me, after watching the twins, Luke and Duke, enough times you know better. She now knows that sometimes, ugly can be good and cute can sometimes be bad. ~Aria.….Even in a little town called Riverdale! ~Archie and Aria!"

We finally finished.

"Hey Arch. Do you notice how, not only we tend to do the conclusion at night but we also do this in your room." I say to him. He stops and thinks about it.

"You're right. It's a force of habit I guess." He says with a shrug. I shrug too.

"I don't mind." I tell him. We said our good nights and went our separate ways. I went to my room and got ready for bed. I was happy because I _finally_ get to see Dilton tomorrow for our full day date. I hurried to bed and cuddled with Allegro before falling asleep.


	45. Chapter 44

**Before you read I want to than all of you! This story has been up for over a year now and, while I sometimes have a hard time with time off for this, you all have been very patient and loyal. Thank you all so much. If you have any ideas you want to share or anything you want done or even a vote of who Aria should be with, PM me and I'll reply as soon as I can. Again, Thank you all so much. Enjoy. :-)**

Chapter 44: Invasion Of The Cockroaches!

*Aria's POV*

Okay! Weird day began at 9 am this morning! It was 2 days after Gleebo was caught, 1 day after my whole day date with Dilton, and 10 days into spring break. I woke up and rushed to shower and get ready for work. Pops had called last night and wanted me to be in early so I agreed. I didn't want to wake Archie up so I skated all the way there. Turns out a fancy food critic, oddsocks, was coming to review Pop's food. I tried not to panic with him. Not only was he a very powerful man, he reviewed a few places in the city I loved and closed them down.

"Don't worry Pops, I'll help you out. I don't care if I work all night for free, I'll help anyway I can. He shut down 3 places in the city I loved to eat at. I won't let him shut down a 4th!" I tell him with a smile and fire in my eyes.

"Thanks Aria. I knew I could count on you." He says happily. We worked together to clean and open the shop. He showed me the food lids and cloth napkins for the customers. I told him about my idea for the champaign glasses for the milkshakes, the flute glasses for the soda the glass Irish coffee glasses for coffee and vino glasses for the floats. He loved the idea. I had rushed to the store and quickly bought a few boxes before carefully skating back with the sets. It took a few trips, and some of my money, but it was worth it to help Pops out big time.

"You might need a new uniform." He tells me as I looked at mine. It wasn't stained or worn out but I understand his perfection. I didn't say anything and agreed if he had one. He didn't.

"It's ok. I know an Andrews' secret to get this uniform to look new again." I tell him simply. Customers were rolling in and he wanted me to use the food cart. Yeah. I didn't like that.

"I know you want fancy, but I can be fancy and still hand food out like I'm used to." I tell him.

"Do that for drinks and menu's only." He tells me. I sighed but agreed. He was my boss after all. I did as told and kept my cheery self. The customers were confused but still enjoyed themselves and tipped really well. I saw Archie, Betty, Veronica and Jughead enter. I guided them to their seats and gave them the menus. I took their order and skated off with the menu's to give Pops the order.

"Aria. Is there any way you could sound fancier?" He asks me. I was starting to get offended.

"Want me to use very fancy words and try to use French as well?" I asked him, trying to hold back the sarcasm.

"If you could, it would be nice." He suddenly replied. I sighed.

"Oui monsieur." I say as I go back to refills with a pitcher and coffee pot, replaced empty milkshake and float glasses with full ones, cleaned the tables quickly yet thoroughly, the whole nine yards. I saw Archie and the group talking to Pops but I didn't have much time to listen in or anything. Work needed to be done. Before I knew it, my shift was done. I sighed in relief as I went into the back to count our stocks. I was slightly faster than Pops. When I got done I looked and saw the gang, minus Reggie, cleaning. Well, actually, Veronica was doing her nails.

"What's going on?" I asked them.

"We volunteered to help you and Pops." Archie said as he was scraping gum off from underneath the tables.

"Thanks guys. We could use the extra set of hands." I said as I grabbed some cleaning supplies and began scrubbing down the bathrooms. After 3.5 hours it was spotless. I'm not exaggerating when I say it was sparkling. I went out and saw everyone resting, so I joined them.

"I am spent." Veronica tiredly said.

"I'm running on auto pilot." Jughead added in the same tone.

"How do you think I feel right now?" I asked them as I closed my eyes, ready to nap.

"Stop lounging you slackers! I thought you promised to help!" I heard Pops scold us. I opened my eyes to see his arms crossed. He didn't look too happy.

"We did help Pops." Archie defended.

"Didn't I make it clear that I wanted to wow this restaurant critic?" He questioned us.

"And you will." Betty said in a reassuring voice. Pops didn't look to happy right now.

"How?! With **streaks** on my clean windows?! With the music **that** loud?! When the napkin holder is **off** **center**?!" He yells at us.

"Relax Pops. The place looks great for a burger joint. Don't get frantic over a few minor details." Archie reassured him as he goes over and rests a hand on his shoulder. I smacked my forehead. I know Archie meant well, but he shouldn't have said that to Pops unless he wanted him to rant. Pops shrugged his hand away and turned to walk.

"Don't you see? Oddsocks won't love this place if it isn't perfect. _**Perfect**_!" He stressed out.

"Pops, You haven't even met this guy yet and you're already letting him run your life." Betty tell him. Pops sighs.

"I know. I just want to look good for that...Cockroach!" He yelled out suddenly. I looked down in confusion until I saw the roach.

"Roaches! I _hate_ Roaches!" He yells out as he runs behind the counter.

"Need me to get bug spray from the store?" I ask as I grabbed a couple napkins and got ready to grab and squish it.

"Don't bother. I have a homemade bug formula that has been in my family for generations." He says while digging for something under the cabinet before grabbing a spray with yellowish orange liquid in it and getting right where the roach was. "Watch." He tells us. He bends down in front of the roach and sprays the spray. Now I read roaches can survive a whole lot of things. No way this spray wi-Holy gumballs! It killed it! I used the tissues to pick it up.

"We should put non scented bug repellent along the baseboard so this doesn't happen again. After all, if Oddsocks would've seen that, it'd be the end of this place." I say as I go to throw the bug down the toilet and gone for good. When I came back out I saw the gang walk out the door. I went over to Pops.

"Why are they leaving?" I asked him.

"They're not going to help. That's fine. We'll just stay up all night and re-clean the place." Pops told me. We?

"Um, Pops….I have to go." I say to him.

"What?! You too?!" He questions full of anger. I whimper as I have flashbacks of my parents, mainly my dad, getting like this.

"I-I'm sorry." I whimper out. He stops and gets a softer look.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you. You're right, you do have to go. I can't have my amazing, and only, waitress become sleep deprived." He tells me. I felt bad.

"I can stay and help another hour if you need me too." I say softly out of guilt.

"It's alright. Just be here early tomorrow." He tells me. I smile and nod.

"Yes sir. And try to sleep. You need it too." I say as I grab my bag and rush out the door to catch up with the gang.

"Wait up!" I yell out. They stop and let me catch up.

"Don't tell me he fired you." Archie said in shock.

"No! You made that amazing place so magical!" Jughead commented. I blushed and looked away.

"N-no. Pops is letting me go home to sleep." I say as I felt tired. We walked and I lost my footing. Jughead carried me and told me to rest. I snuggled up to him as he carried me. I guess I fell asleep because when I woke up, I heard Archie rush in and tell me there was a mystery at Pops. I jumped up, still in my uniform, and got on jeans and my kiss tee before tossing on my sneakers and out the door we went. We hopped in the car and drove over to Pop's. On the way I was told he saw 2 giant roaches.

"Pops, Are you sure that's what you saw?" I asked him.

"Yes! I'm not lying!" He said loudly in a panic.

"Alright, alright." I said as we got there. We slowly open the door the door and peek in.

"They're over there. In that back booth." Pops whispered and pointed to the back booth. Archie and I nodded as we crouched down and sneaked over to it. Nothing. There was nothing there.

"Uh Pops….These alleged bugs are allegedly invisible." Archie tells him.

"I'm telling you Arch. There were two of them." He says as he goes over to the spot.

"This big!" He adds while stretching his arms out as wide as he could.

"Pops, you're so tired, you're seeing things!" Archie scolds as he stands up. I stand up and look at the booth.

"Archie might be right this time Pops. I'm not calling you a lier, but you might be tired and over stressed. You should go home and sleep. I'll get here an hour extra earlier to make sure everything is set up." I tell him as I guide him outside.

"I guess so. But..." He started to fight back but I took the shop keys from him.

"Pops. If you don't sleep, you won't be at your best. Go home and sleep. I'll get here early and get things ready." I assure him.

"Alright…...I trust you." He says with a little worry. I smiled and followed Archie back to the car. We drove back, Archie mumbling and grumbling the whole time, and went inside. Archie went back to sleep as I yawned. I made breakfast and a power smoothie before washing my uniform and showering. I dried my uniform and stretched in my sweats. I took Allegro on a quick walk before getting in my uniform and leave to go to work. I skated there and used the keys to get inside. I made sure everything was clean as I warmed up the grill and got everything up and running. I grabbed all the plates, silverware, glasses and made sure everything was absolutely perfect. As soon as I triple checked everything, Pops came in looking well rested.

"Great job Aria." He compliments as he looks around.

"We ready for the day?" I asked him as I kept a positive attitude.

"As ready as I'll ever be." He says as we got ready for customers. I spoke partially in French and did my job as I saw Oddsocks walk in. I immediately walked up to him, making sure I looked good.

"Bonjour Monsieur Oddsocks. Follow me to your table as My boss personally serves you." I say with a sweet smile and show him to a table reserved just for him. I gave him the menu.

"Drinks to start?" I asks him. He looks at the menu.

"What would you recommend?" He asks suddenly.

"I can make an incroyable milkshake that everyone amours." I say kindly to him.

"Then I'll have a vanilla if you don't mind." He tells me.

"Oui. Coming right up." I say as I speed into the back and start the milkshake.

"Oddsocks is here. I'm getting him a milkshake before you take his order." I tell him as I pour it into the champaign glass, put a touch of whipped cream, a small amount of pink sprinkles with a cherry perfectly placed on top before I quickly, yet elegantly, rushed over and placed it in front of him.

"The extras are complimentary." I say politely before I heard a small crash on the floor. I saw some kids dropped something and made a mess.

"Please pardon me." I say as I rushed to put on an apron, some gloves and grabbed the cleaning stuff before going over and cleaned up the mess.

"Sorry Aria. We didn't mean to make a mess." One of the kids, I think his name was Aaron, said to me.

"It's not a big deal. Happens a lot." I say as I made the spot look like nothing happened and disposed of the stuff. I tossed the apron to the side and took the gloves off before washing up and using hand sanitizer on myself. I rubbed it into my hands as I got back to work. I saw Oddsocks talking to Pops and tried not to worry about it. What's the worse that could happen? I tried not to think about it as I handled everything. I peaked and saw Oddsocks eyeballing me for a small moment before talking to Pops again. What was going on?

*Pops' POV*

He was telling me about how he could almost give me a 5 start rating on the burger alone and told me what to replace.

"But...The kids like them." I tell him.

"Exactly. If you want an upscale place, aim for the adults. Kids are useless." He was telling me.

"I don't now." I say as I look around.

"You think?" He asks quietly.

"No, I _know_. All kids are useless. Except her." He suddenly said. I looked over and saw Aria.

"She's the only employee you have?" He asked me.

"Well, yes. I haven't needed more people and business was low. She brings, not only the kids in, but adults too. She's amazing." I told him. It was true. I could never fire her. She did so much for me and rarely takes any time off.

"She might be a kid but she acts like an adult. Get her a different uniform and have her keep speaking French and being fancy. She makes an amazing milkshake just like she says." He tells me as he finished the milkshake she gave him.

"Change everything and you get a five star rating." He adds. I grew shocked but nodded yes.

"Yes sir. I can do all that." I say to him.

"Then you, good sir, get 5 stars. I'll have it in the paper by tomorrow. Good day." He says before leaving. I sighed but was extremely happy. When the day was over I told Aria about the review. She seemed happy at 1st until I told her the changes.

"Pops. You shouldn't do that. These kids love it here. It's a place for them to be themselves. There aren't many places like that." She told me. She was always the voice of reason.

"I know, but I need better business." I tell her. She sighs and shakes her head.

"Just don't loose sight as to why you _really_ opened this place up. Why you take good care of us kids." She says to me before she continues cleaning. I know she means well, but she was still young. She didn't fully understand the business world. I had her go to the store with me and set a few things up before sending her home, told her to wear something fancy yet simple until I got her a different uniform, and doing the rest myself.

*Aria's POV*

I was worried about Pops. He was loosing his values and turning his back on the teens he considers friends. Let's hope he doesn't go over board. I get to work and see everything is decked out nicely.

*Yup. He's lost it.* I thought as I walked inside in my black laced dress I wore when I got turned into a vampire.

"Good. You're here. Get started on setting up, I'll Greet the customers and seat them." He tells me. I nod my head and get things started. As soon as I walk out of the kitchen I see 3 booths filled already. I quickly give them menu's and got their drinks. I got the drinks and then saw two more booths filled. Oh boy. I got to work and was so busy, I didn't notice Pops was outside talking to the gang about the prices and other stuff. I was so busy, I ended up skipping lunch. I was let go and it was dark. Aunt Mary and Uncle Fred weren't home, because they were still out on business, and neither was Archie. I called Ronin and he came and got me.

"Thank you so much Ronin." I say as I stiffed a yawn.

"Been busy huh?" He asked me. I nodded yes. Then my stomach growled.

"Here. It's not much, but it should help." He tells me as he hands me a granola bar. I smiled and took it.

"Thanks. I skipped lunch today." I tell him as I opened it and downed it quickly.

"You can't do that." He tells me.

"I know. But I'm the only employee Pops has right now." I tell him as I look out the window.

"How've you been?" I ask him.

"Been doing good." He tells me. I smile.

"I've read some of the mystery columns. Well, the ones you helped Archie with." He says with a small blush.

"Really?" I ask in shock. He never liked reading them.

"Yeah. After the werewolf attack I only read the ones you write with him. I figure the others are just false leads or made up." He says to me. I took it as a compliment. We talked a bit more before he dropped me off.

"Let's hang out again." I say to him.

"Yes. Lets." He says to me. He watches me go inside before leaving. Probably best really. After Vinnie jumping me last time. I shuddered at the thought. Hadn't seen him much but I knew it was only a matter of time. I made dinner, ate, did dishes, then went to go upstairs before I heard the door open. I looked and saw Archie.

"Thanks for the ride. Where were you?! I had to call Ronin for a ride." I said to him as he went past me and up the stairs.

"Sorry. Just saved the town from giant roaches!" He yells as he goes to his room. Wait what? Did I hear him right? I rushed upstairs and saw him typing.

"Did you say giant roaches?" I asked him. He explains everything to me as he types.

"Aww! I missed an awesome mystery? Dang it!" I yelled out.

"How come you didn't notice?" He asked me.

"Archie. The place was packed. I skipped lunch because of it." I told him honestly.

"That's not good. But it's taken care of now." He tells me as he keeps typing.

"Good job cous." I say and pat his shoulder before yawning. I go to my room, dress in my gown and go to sleep with Allegro next to me.

*Afternoon Aria's POV*

I was working my usual shift until I felt the ground shake. I looked outside and saw a humongous roach outside, the size of godzilla, breaking down buildings. Pops saw this too and we both hid behind the counter.

"We can't keep hiding. We need a plan." I tell him. Then we hear the door open and close as foot steps came closer to the counter.

"Pops! Aria! You two here!" Archie yells out.

"Archie!" I say as I show myself.

"I told you I saw giant cockroaches. See? See?!" He says in fear.

"Yes Pops, we believe you. But we need your help right now. Where's your home made bug spray?" Archie asks him. He then pulls the bottle out and puts it on top of the counter.

"Here. But it won't be enough to stop that monster." He says as he looks at the stuff.

"Not unless we make enough. If we can gather the ingredients, then we can make enough to kill her!" I say as I figured it all out.

"Exactly." Archie said to me.

"Where would we get a huge amount of ingredients?" Pops asked us.

"We'll call all our classmates to pitch in." Archie says as he picks up the phone.

"After the way I turned them away from my restaurant...They'll never help me." Pops said as he stands up and looks down in sadness.

"Sure they will. Veronica. Take down the ingredients from Pops while I start the ball rolling." She says as Veronica gets a paper and pen and Pops perks up with a small smile.

"Ok. We'll need 2 buckets of fish guts, 30 gallons of vinegar, 400 onions, a bag of manure, 30 cans of sauerkraut, 6 pounds of blue cheese." He said as he listed things down. I turned green at that moment. That would kill anyone!

"And a fire engine." Archie added.

"Huh?" Pops asks in shock.

"Trust me." Archie says with wink. I got the plan right away and whispered it to Pops. Soon the kids gathered up with the ingredients needed and we all helped Pops mix it as he wore a gas mask. The roach was destroying the town as we hurried. We then started loading the stuff into the fire truck and moved quickly. Betty, Veronica and Jughead got inside the fire truck while Archie and I got in the top area with the hose.

"Aria!" Archie yelled out.

"You need help! The hose will be too strong for you!" I scold as I banged the side. We soon got going. We headed to the school where the queen roach was. She was about to destroy it before we got there.

"Hey!" I yell out. She looked at us.

"Keep away from our school you overgrown garbage muncher!" Archie yells at her as we readied the hose.

"You unruly juveniles think you can stop me huh?!" She yells as she started to get in our faces.

"Yep." Archie said as he aimed.

"That's the plan." I added in.

"Any last words?" She asks us as she readied to swipe.

"Yeah." Archie said.

"Just two." I say after. We looked at each other and nodded before looking at her.

"Bug off!" We say at the same time before turning the hose on. We hit her arm and she screamed as steam radiated off her. She then got down on her belly and started to crawl away.

"Oh no you don't!" I yell as we soon chased her. We couldn't turn the hose on while the truck was moving so we waited until we drove out of town and at the edge of a cliff.

"Gotchya now ugly!" Archie said to her. I then saw her about to swipe.

"Look out!" I yell as I grabbed him. We went flying and I cushioned him. My shoulder hit a rock pretty hard as Archie rolled off me.

"Aria!" He yelled out.

"Get the hose! I'm fine!" I yell as I hold my right shoulder. The queen roach made her way to me.

"We cockroaches have waited 400 million years for this!" She yells out as she was about to step on me.

"You're right! This is getting old!" I screamed as Archie turned the hose on. He sprayed her all over as she started screaming and steaming. She backed up and fell over the edge of the cliff into the ocean, where she drowned and sank to the bottom of the sea. I got up and ran next to Archie while holding my shoulder still.

"Do you think she'll ever return?" Veronica asked as all three got out of the fire truck.

"No. We got her. And if we didn't, well, We'll be ready." I say as I looked at where she sunk. We watched for a couple more minutes before hiking back into town. We got someone to get the tipped over fire truck before we headed back to check on Pops. Poor guy was upset as he takes down the curtains.

"The adults don't want to come back to my restaurant. It reminds them of bad times." He says as he pulls down the last curtain.

"So I guess I need to shut down the business now." He says as he slumps over in depression.

"What are you talking about Pops? You still got us." Jughead said as he gestures to all of us. Pops shakes his head no.

"No. I can't expect you teens to come back after the way I treated you. I wouldn't blame Aria for quitting after all I put her through." He adds as he feels guilty.

"Pops…..You're an idiot." I say as I shake my head. Everyone gasped and looked at me in shock.

"We're your friends. We're not going to abandon you. Heck, all the teens rushed over to help you. They understand and forgive you. Especially now that you see where your true customers and values lye. Expanding isn't bad, you just went overboard. It happens to the best of us. As for me quitting…..It'll take more than that for me to leave. I stuck by you through all of this and I'm sticking through to the end." I say as I give a smile while my arms were folded over my chest.

"You're right. You kids were the only ones who helped me when the chips were down." He tells me.

"And speaking of chips." Jughead said as he ties a napkin around his neck and starts ordering a large list of food. Pops started to smile big and bright as I giggled.

"Coming right up." I say as Ii give him a kiss on the cheek and head into the back to help Pops out.

"You don't have to help." He tells me.

"It's ok. I'll eat when this is all made. I know Jughead will share with me anyhow." I tell him as I start the fries.

"Aria...Thank you." He says to me.

"No problem." I say with a smile as we cooked. We soon served the food and Jughead pulled me into his lap before feeding me a fry. I won't lie. I was starving. Didn't eat a big enough breakfast and helped defeat a roach queen? You bet I was going to eat as much as Jughead. After we ate We helped Pops clean up before other kids came in. He apologized to them and they quickly forgave him. Pops said I could go home but I decided to help out. How could I not? Either way, the day ended and Archie drove me home. We got a phone call from Uncle Fred saying they'd be home in a couple more days. We made dinner and after that we went up and finished the article together.

"And so the teens came back to Pops' Diner and everything went pretty much back to normal. ~Aria. The fake cockroach people were rounded up and the queen was never seen again. ~Archie. Good thing too. I don't want to deal with her again. Anyhow, Pops discovered that you can't trade in friendship for a good magazine review. You always have to be true to yourself. ~Aria. ….Even in a little town called Riverdale! ~Archie & Aria!" We ended the article and I hugged Archie from behind.

"You should sleep." He tells me. I shake my head no.

"Pops is giving me the day off tomorrow. I can sleep in." I tell him just as the phone rang. Archie reached next to him.

"Andrews' residence, Archie speaking." He said.

"Sure. Hold on." He said then handed me the phone.

"It's Dilton." He whispers to me. I took the phone immediately.

"Hey Dilton." I say cheerfully.

"Salutations Aria. I was wondering if you had any plans tomorrow." He says to me.

"No, I don't" I tell him.

"Great! Can we go on an all day date tomorrow? I haven't seen you much and I miss you." He says to me. I can tell he was blushing, as was I, as I softly giggled.

"Sure. Sounds wonderful." I say to him.

"Really? Great!" He tells me. We made plans to meet up at a park in the morning and go from there. I hang up the phone and smiled.

"Ok. Time for bed. Night Arch." I say as I toss the phone on his bed and happily skip to my room. I got ready for bed and had Allegro next to me as I fell asleep rubbing his ear.


	46. Chapter 45

Chapter 45: Ship Of Ghouls!

*Aria's POV*

"Please Archie?" I asked him for the 5th time.

"No Aria. Not today." He said as I pouted.

"But you promised! And Spring break's almost over!" I said in a huff.

"Just not today." He told me as I pouted.

"What's going on?" Aunt Mary asked as she came inside. Uncle Fred was still gone on his business trip, and would be for an extra week so, she came home and was in charge.

"I wanted to go back to the beach and Archie won't take me like he promised." I said to her.

"When was this?" She asked me.

"He promised me when break started and now spring break is almost over." I said as I sat down and huffed. He promised and now it's the end of spring break.

"Archie why won't you take her?" She asked before I butted in.

"Because he's going on a date this weekend with Veronica on her father's boat and he doesn't want me there." I pouted with a sigh.

"Well let me see what I can do." She said as she then picked up the phone. Archie and I grew confused for a moment.

"Hello, I'm looking for Veronica Lodge." We heard her say as Archie and I grew wide eyed.

"Yes hi Veronica, It's Archie's mother. I heard you would be with my son on your boat…...Uh-huh…...Yes….Well I was also wondering who else would be there…..Mhm…..Oh really?…...So Archie told you she didn't want to go?…...And you're sure Reggie, Betty and Jughead were invited?….I see….Well, could you be a dear and call Reggie, Betty and Jughead for me. Aria will be there as well….Thank you too…..Alright….Tell your mother I said hello the next time you see her…..Alright goodbye." She said as she hung up and then turned to stare at Archie.

"So, funny story, Veronica said she invited Aria, Reggie, Jughead and Betty and you told her they had other plans together. Hm~ I wonder why?" She asked as I then glared at Archie.

"I, uh, guess I misheard her." Archie said nervously as I got mad.

"I understand you want private dates but, not only you promised me and Veronica knew that, but you lied to me." I said as I tried to stay calm.

"Aria you go ahead and pack a small bag for the weekend. Veronica said it was alright to be there for the weekend. I need to talk to my son alone right now." She told me as I got up.

"Alright." I muttered as I went up to my room. I was packing up a small back with Allegro on my bed. He was looking at me with his ears down. He gave a small whine when I pet him.

"I can't believe Archie lied to me. To me!" I said as I felt upset. What else could he have lied to me about? And why? As I finished I heard a gentle knock. I then saw Archie poke his head inside.

"What?" I snipped out.

"I wanted to say sorry." He started before I glared at him. I decided not to say anything as he sighed and continued. "It was just going to be me and Veronica tomorrow and then everyone next weekend. I wanted it to be romantic but now the surprise is ruined and I think Veronica might be mad at me." He said as I still glared at him.

"Betty will be too." I said to him.

"I know." He sighed out.

"And Reggie." I said to him.

"I know." He sighed out again.

"And so am I." I said to him.

"Yeah, I know." He told me with another sigh.

"And Jughead might be for lying to me." I told him as he hung his head.

"Archie you could've told me. I would've been fine with all of it." I told him as he looked up at me.

"Really?" He asked me shocked.

"Yes. If you plan on a secret romantic date you can tell me. I wouldn't tell." I told him as he sighed with small relief.

"Still mad?" He asked me.

"Yes." I told him.

"Would it help if I told you Betty and I can teach you how to scuba dive?" He asked me.

"I'm sure Betty would've either way." I told him.

"Then a burger at Pop Tate's?" He asked me. I looked at him.

"Two?" He asked as I still glared at him.

"Alright, um, his largest sundae with everything as my treat for saying sorry?" He asked me as I smiled.

"Sure. I have to get my pay anyways." I said with a small smile. What? Food tends to win me over. Especially if it's from Pop Tate's or made by Jughead. Dilton, well, he tries at least. Archie just chuckled as we hugged. We then left, after telling Aunt Mary we'd be back, and head straight over to Pop's. I got my pay and Archie paid for his largest sundae with all the toppings I wanted and even extra whipped cream. Pops joked about how Archie must've got me mad and I laughed saying it was true. Archie got a burger with fries. We talked, laughed, he said he was sorry and shouldn't have lied to me, and then we left. On the way home we talked.

"I think Betty is a better girl for you." I told him flat out as he grew shocked.

"What?" He asked me as I smiled.

"I like her. She's kind, sweet, nice, sincere, forgiving, patient, smart, friendly and would be a better match for you. Don't get me wrong, I like Veronica, but I think you and Betty look cuter together." I told him as he went red.

"Well it's my choice." He told me.

"I know." I told him as he looked at me.

"Well, as much as I don't like it, I think you should be with Jughead." He said as I sputtered.

"W-what?" I questioned him.

"Jughead's my best friend and, as upset as Dilton would be, Not many girls like Jughead's weirdness. Big Ethel does but that's a different reason. You seem to understand Jughead better than anyone, even me, and I'm his best friend." Archie told me as I blushed.

"Well, just like you, it's my choice." I told him as he chuckled.

"I know." He said as he pulled into the driveway. Once we got out of the car I saw a familiar blond heading this way. Uh oh.

"Archie Andrews!" She yelled out as he flinched. I went over and patted his shoulder.

"Nice knowing ya." I said as I darted inside.

*Next day Aria's POV*

Okay. Now it's Friday, in march I might add. We're not too far away from April and today was a very hot day. Veronica, Reggie and Jughead took Reggie's car there while Archie, Betty and I took his car there. It felt lonely in the back seat without Jughead. Did I really like him more than Dilton? No. No that's not it. I'm just so used to him in the back seat with me. I think if I didn't work on inventions with Dilton I'd feel the same way. As soon as we got there I ran to Jughead and jumped in his arms. What? I'm a bit clingy. He doesn't mind one bit. We started going onto the boat/yacht. It was large.

"I brought some burgers from Pops for us." He commented as I smiled.

"That's so sweet." I said as he kept his arm around my shoulder.

"Where's Allegro?" He suddenly asked me.

"I left him with Aunt Mary. We didn't know how he'd act out here so we decided to leave him there this time. I think Aunt Mary just wants the company until Uncle Fred comes home." I said as he smiled and tried not to laugh.

"Makes sense." He said as we saw lawn chairs and everything. It looked so nice. Veronica showed us the rooms and they were nice. We got saluted by the captain as Veronica explained he would be here to drive the boat we could enjoy our weekend. That was nice. We got to pick rooms. It was cool but there were two halls. The boys were on the left and girls to the right and in the middle was a separate hall that lead to different places and when you make a 180 from that hall would be the small set of steps to get to the top of the ship. I picked a room closest to the exit and to Jughead as he did the same thing. I changed into my swimsuit and decided to get some sun. I rubbed sun tan oil on me and tried to get my back.

"Need help?" I heard Jughead ask as he came over to me.

"Please?" I asked him as he smiled.

"Sure." He said as he took the bottle. I laid on my stomach and he rubbed the oil on my back.

"Mmm, that feels nice." I muttered as I relaxed. Soon Jughead stopped rubbing my back, I felt disappointed after that, as I let the sun hit me. I could hear the girls and the boys talking, maybe arguing, and roaming around near the steps before it quieted down a bit.

"Wonder what that's about." Jughead said as he munched on a burger.

"Not sure." I said as I decided to flip over. When I have tanning oil on I tan within 10 minutes after 30 minutes with it on I burn. Badly.

"Burger?" He asked me. I nodded as he handed me one. I finished the burger and laid down to finish up while Jughead ate more.

"You don't want more?" He suddenly asked me.

"When I'm done. If there's none left then I'll whip up something." I said as I relaxed even more so.

"If you're making food then I'm in." He said as he ate another burger. I lightly laughed as I then felt too warm. I got up and stretched.

"Time to rinse off." I said as I felt the boat stop in the middle of the ocean.

"Great timing." I said, mostly to myself, as I ran to the left, where there are a few steps that lead to a flat part to jump in the water and climb back up, and jumped in the water with a splash. I opened my eyes and looked around me. It looked so beautiful. There is a beach in NYC but the water is a bit muggy and not much life to see. This, however, looked gorgeous. The water was very blue, the seaweed looked very green, the few fish I saw looked so bright and beautiful. I swam to them and they swam around me. I decided to swim down a little further and saw more fish. I then need air so I swam up to the surface.

"Enjoying yourself?" I heard Archie ask as I looked at him, on the boat and in swim shorts, and smiled.

"Archie! The ocean's wonderful here! You have to see all the pretty fish!" I said as I then took a huge breath and went back under. The day was over. I saw so many different fish. We would go scuba diving tomorrow. I couldn't wait. I climbed out of the ocean and peaked up to see Jughead holding a plastic cup filled with orange soda for me. It even had a cute little purple umbrella. I smiled and climbed up the steps and went over to him.

"Thank you." I said as I took a few sips.

"You'd make a gorgeous mermaid." He told me as I blushed lightly.

"I don't go swimming often so, when I do, I enjoy it for as long as I can." I told him as he smiled at me. I took another sip while smiling. This was an awesome day.

"Ew. Gross. What an ugly scar." I suddenly heard Reggie comment. I realized he hadn't seen my scar yet.

"You should cover it up Doll Face, it's not that attractive." He suddenly added as he looked the other way. I felt tears well up in my eyes.

"Reggie you're a jerk!" I yelled and, as he turned to me, threw my soda in his face and stormed off to my room. I could hear all of them yell at Reggie before I slammed the door shut and sighed. I had a couple tears fall as I wiped my eyes. I grabbed a towel and decided to quickly shower. It only took me 10 minutes to wash up before I started drying off. I put on my panties and green shorts when I realized I forgot my purple top, the same pajamas from the sewer mystery. I went into my room to grabbed it. What harm could it do? I grabbed it when the door opened.

"Hey, listen, I'm so-" I heard Reggie start before he froze up. I looked and saw him staring at my exposed breasts. He was blushing a bit but had a perverted look in his eyes as he was gawking. I covered my breasts, even though he saw every part of them, and let out a super loud girly shriek. Honestly, I've never shrieked so loud and high pitched in my life.

 _ **EVER**_!

"Get out!" I screamed.

"But-" He started before I grabbed my shoes and threw them, one at a time, at him and hitting him.

"Get out!" I screamed again as he covered his face and ran out. I was so~ embarrassed. Veronica and Betty came inside to check on me and saw me the way I was. I told them what happened and was still flustered. Reggie might've been annoying but he was still my friend…...Sort of. But now after this little event, I don't think I could face him. The Valentine's Day incident was bad enough. I was just starting to get over that too. He'd seen me exposed in a bathing suit, but seeing me exposed like that? Great.~ They went and told Archie and Jughead what happened before Reggie could weasel his way out of it. I put my shirt on just in time to see Jughead, eyes covered by his hand, and trying to knock on the door.

"Aria? You okay? Are you decent?" He asked me as he gave up trying to knock.

"Yes, you can look." I mumbled out. He took his hand off his eyes and looked at me.

"You okay?" He asked me as I was still red.

"Would you be?" I asked him as I sighed.

"I already smacked Mantle and Archie and the girls are yelling at him right now." He told me as he came over.

"That was so~ humiliating." I said as I sighed in annoyance. I had to calm down. I then felt Jughead pull me into a hug as he rubbed my back.

"Mantle won't be doing that again." He told me as I sunk into the hug.

"He should've knocked." I muffled out through his shirt.

"He knew better." He said as he held me tighter.

*I wonder if he's even more upset because it was Reggie and not him.* I thought as I nuzzled closer to him. I loved it when he held me close like this. I felt like I could fall asleep.

"You okay?" Archie suddenly asked, ruining the nice moment.

"I just calmed her down." Jughead said as he kept me close to him.

"I can't believe he did that." Jughead added in after he sighed. I pulled away and as I looked at Archie.

"I can't believe she made a sound like that." He said with a snicker.

"Shut up." I mumbled to him as I blushed lightly.

"What kind of shriek was that? You've never once shrieked like that." Archie added as he tried not to laugh.

"Shut up! He surprised me alright!" I nearly shouted at him as I blushed an even deeper red. Archie then started laughing before I slugged his arm. After all that, and Reggie practically begging on his knees for forgiveness thanks to Veronica, we all went to bed.

*Next day Aria's POV*

We all woke up and I made breakfast for everyone, with Jughead's help, as the boat swayed a bit. It was another bright, sunny and warm day today. Perfect! Archie told me to wait until it got warmer to go swimming…...I didn't listen. I got in my swim suit, admiring my now close to mocha colored skin in the mirror for a bit, before jumping in the water. I swam with some of the fish throughout the morning with joy. I swam near the bottom when I thought I saw a large fish tail swim in the seaweed. I went to see but had to go up for air. After I got air I went back under again and got closer to the seaweed. I saw it again. I went to chase it but it was gone. I decided to give up and go back to the boat. For now. I get up on the boat and hear music. I go lay on a lawn chair and see Jughead eating a burger.

"Got another?" I asked him. He nods and hands me one. I smile and took a big bite of the double cheese burger with mayo.

"Yummy." I say happily. The order went Veronica, Jughead, me then Reggie. I just ignored Reggie and enjoyed the music that played.

"So, Doll Face, Need me to rub some sun block on your back?" He asks me as he goes to grab it. I grabbed it 1st and moved it next to the Mayo.

"No, thank you. I'd rather have my boyfriend touch me. You've done enough." I say to him as I tried not to make it sound harsh.

"Aw come on Doll Face. I said I was sorry." He says to me. I just huffed and finished my burger before looking away.

"If it makes you feel better, they look nice." He says to me. I punched his arm very hard. He yelped and held it.

"Ok ok. Message received." He says as he starts rubbing it. I smiled and relaxed for a while. Betty shook me and let me know to suit up. I smiled and got ready to scuba dive.

"Reggie. Could you be a dear and rub some sun screen on my back?" She asks sweetly to him. He jumped up immediately. I rolled my eyes.

"Pathetic." I mumble as I got the suit on. I turned and tried not to laugh. He was rubbing mayo on her instead…..Oops. Maybe I shouldn't have put it next to the mayo in the 1st place…...Oh well. She's gonna kill him. I saw Jughead try to tell him but Reggie kept shushing him. He called Ronnie filthy rich and she took offense to the filthy part. Archie and Betty mentioned the diving and Ronnie perked up and asked for a souvenir. I wasn't paying much attention. I just tried not to laugh. Betty pushed Archie backwards then showed me what to do before going in the water. I went to the edge.

"I'll find you something nice Jughead. And Reggie…..You're putting Mayo on Ronnie's back." I say before putting in the mouth piece and fell into the water right when I heard Ronnie yell out mayonnaise. I saw Archie and Betty start swimming so I decided to follow for a bit. We swam to the bottom and I saw a pretty shell. It was flat and white. I grabbed it and put it in my bag before looking around for more. I swore I saw that fish tail again near the seaweed. This time I could find it. Or so I thought. I went down and couldn't find a thing. Well, I saw another shell. It was the same kind of shell but smaller. I grabbed it and put it in my bag. I then saw a blue shell. Then another. Then a pink one. They all looked different as I started filling my bag. What? I don't get shells often, if at all. I then saw a pile of shells. Ok. Weird. I looked around but saw nothing. I shrugged and put as many as I could in my bag, checking to make sure nothing was living in them, before swimming to the top. I put the bag on deck and saw Jughead.

"Jughead, can you get me another bag? I found a pile of shells." I say to him. He nods and brings me another. I smiled and dove under again. I put more shells in the bag and swam some more. I then found a sunken ship and smiled. I swam in and looked around. I found some cool antiques and then I found a shark tooth in the ship. I pulled it out and smiled at the sight of it. I put it in the bag and investigated some more. I found the captains quarters and looked around in wonder. The ship was old, very old, and falling apart but it was amazing never the less. Wish I had my camera. Oh well. I swam around before deciding to go back. I swore I kept seeing something but I might have been imagining it. I got to see more fish and decided to play with them, aka swim and chase them, before climbing onto the boat. I saw Archie looking worried as the girls each hugged an arm.

"What's up?" I asked as I pulled myself out.

"There's someone or something down there. In the bed of sea grass. I swear!" He said in a small panic. I tilted my head.

"I actually agree with you. I found some shells put in a pile in a spot where they weren't before." I say softly.

"Huh. That is weird." Betty said softly.

"Who cares! They're shells! Archie found a real gold trinket!" Reggie said in pure shock.

"What?!" I shout as I take my tank off and go over to him. Ronnie showed it to me.

"Could I see it for a minute? I'll give it back." I asked and then told her.

"Sure." She said and handed it to me. I felt strange holding it but ignored it. I was looking it over thoroughly.

"I swear I've seen this before. In a book maybe. Perhaps it's connected with the sunken ship I found." I say before giving it back to her.

"You found a sunken ship?" Archie asked me in shock.

"Yeah. I even found a shark tooth! And some old antique nick knacks. Not just shells." I say as I aim the last part to Reggie. I grabbed my bags as the gang kept talking. I put my souvenirs in my room before I started walking back. I saw Jughead with a huge plate of burgers and grabbed one.

"Yummy!" I say as I bite into it. I then see dark clouds and swallowed.

"We need to head back. There's a storm heading this way." I say to them.

"She's right. We better head back before our buns get wet." Jughead said to them. I giggled lightly at what he said before lightning flashed and thunder roared after it. We started heading back. Reggie started acting a bit weird but I ignored it. I ate a couple more burgers before heading down to my room to dry my hair and change. I made sure to lock the door this time. I decided to lay down for a bit, after unlocking my door, and ended up falling asleep. What? Swimming tires you out. I was woken up by Betty.

"Are we there already?" I asked sleepily.

"Yeah. The guys took Reggie's car to Doctor Beaumont's to talk about Veronica's necklace and the sunken ship you found." She tells me.

"Did Archie leave us his keys?" I asked her.

"Yes." She said.

"Good." I said as I got up. I grabbed my bags and followed her into their room as Betty packed up. The storm was over us and the waves made the yacht sway. Good thing I don't get seasick. Betty, however, didn't look so good.

"Gosh girls, It's getting bad out there. I'm starting to feel queasy." Betty said as she held her head. I felt bad. Veronica was admiring herself with her hand mirror.

"Archie's such a sweetie." She says as she holds the necklace. I rolled my eyes. Then Betty screamed.

"What is it?" Veronica asked as I turned and saw why.

"Someone's living in my souvenir. I'll have to toss him back on our way out." She said sadly. I smiled.

"I don't know. I think he's kinda cute." I say as I pet it gently. It didn't try to pinch me.

"I'll let you have one of my shells." I tell her.

"Thanks Aria. By the way, What are you going to do with all of them?" She asked me.

"Make a necklace, a couple hair clips, maybe earrings if they're small enough, stuff like that." I say as I stand up. I then thought of something.

"Ronnie, can I see that again? It's bugging me that I know I've seen it before." I asked before telling her this and made my way over to her.

"Oh fine." She said as she took it off and handed it to me. I tinkered with it.

"Careful! Don't break it! Archie gave it to me!" She whined out as I opened it.

"It's a key!" I yelped out as I saw what I did. Betty came over and looked.

"You're right. It looks like a key." She told me.

"Where have I seen this?" I ask myself as I looked at it more.

*Reggie's POV*

We gathered around a book that read about the necklace Archie found for Ronnie. He read about it being a key to a royal treasure chest stolen by pirates back in the year 1700.

"The treasure, the ship and the key were lost at sea by a hurricane." Archie said.

"That's the ship Aria must've found." Jughead said. I then gasped and smiled.

"If we could find that sunken treasure, than we'd be rich!" I say as I thought about it. I could picture me in front of the chest full of treasure, and wearing some of the jewels, as Betty and Veronica came up and kissed each cheek as I smiled. I looked at the chest and saw Aria sitting on it and blowing me a kiss with a wink as I smiled wider. I stopped the imagination and looked at the guys before smiling a wicked smile.

*Correction...I'd be rich.* I thought as I took my keys and left. I got in my car and drove off quickly back to the docks.

"Oh yeah. When I get that treasure, I'll buy a yacht just like Veronica's. And a big mansion just like Veronica's. Heh, Then I'll buy Veronica. And Betty too. I'll definitely buy Aria too. *Chuckles* I'm going to be so filthy, stinking, dirty rich, I'm going to own all of Riverdale." I say to myself as I drove quickly in the storm.

*Archie's POV*

"Unfortunately, the pirates were cursed by their own greed." I read after Reggie said something about us being rich. I heard the door slam and looked up to find Reggie was gone.

"Guess he got spooked." Jughead said as he held the candle a bit closer to the book for me to keep reading. Stupid storm cut the power.

"What else does it say?" Jughead asked me. I looked back down to continue reading.

"Apparently, the pirates were forbidden from entering the after life. Now as malevolent ghouls, they roam the ocean floor, guarding their sunken treasure for all eternity." I read out loud. I wasn't going to admit I was freaked, even though I was, as I turned the page to read some more.

"During the 1800's, this treasure was the most sought after treasure in the world. But the pirate's curse kept it so well protected, that all who sought it perished." I read out as I read the last word with slight fear. Jughead gulped and looked like he might start shaking. Then the lightning flash and the three of us grew closer together as the thunder boomed.

*Aria's POV*

I closed the key up and gave it back to Veronica.

"We should see the guys at Doctor Beaumont's. Maybe I saw this in one of his books." I said as I tried to think back. I usually go to the store once a month to look around, yet haven't bought a thing, and was allowed to read certain books. It was cool. Anyhow, Betty was looking outside to see the storm as Ronnie put her necklace back on.

"It's really coming down hard." She tells us.

"We should hurry up then, before it gets worse." I say as I go to grab my bags. I pulled out my black hoodie with silver outlines, silver studded angel wings on the back, and a silver studded A that was small on the front over my heart, and zipped it up.

"Well come on girlfriends, before we have to swim home." Veronica said as she put on a jacket that matched Betty's. Wait a minute. Those were the coats they wore to spy on Dorsa. Never mind. I then heard Veronica gasp.

"What's wrong?" I asked as I turned to her.

"I saw something." She said in a scared tone. Then her and Betty clung onto each other. I rolled my eyes.

"What? What did you see?" Betty asked her as they shook.

"I don't know. They looked like eyes. Glowing green eyes." She said to me. Now I was curious.

"Just like what Archie saw." I said, mostly to myself, as I looked at the window. I saw nothing.

"Let's hurry." I say as I grabbed my small bag and my souvenir bags. Just then, the window shattered. I jolted up. Veronica ran to the door and opened it. Bad move. She and Betty ran but then screamed and ran back in. I looked and screamed as I saw a ghoul trying to get in through the tiny window. The girls screamed as Betty went for the door again.

"Betty wait!" I screamed but she opened it. The ghouls were standing right there. Waiting. They slammed the door all the way open and hit Betty in the face.

"Ouch." I heard her say as they moaned and walked right inside….Towards Veronica. She smiled and talked money to them, trying to bribe them. I smacked my forehead.

"Oh for the love of..." I mumbled before I started attacking them.

"Veronica! Run! Now!" I yelled out to her. I saw Betty and Veronica leave. The pirate captain grabbed my neck and threw me. I went through the closet door. That's all I remember before everything went black.

*Reggie's POV*

I finally made it. I ended up running to Betty and Veronica. Perfect.

"Hey Ronnie, I know it's only been an hour, but I've _really_ missed you." I tell her. I had pushed Betty away and held Veronica close while talking. I pulled the key off her while she was distracted.

"Wha? Reggie!" She said in shock as she moved away from me.

"Ghouls! Archie? Where's Archie?!" She asked in pure fear.

*Ha! Ghouls don't exist, but that treasure does!* I thought.

"At that wacko Beaumont shop. Why?" I asked to keep up the ruse. Then they started running.

"Ghouls Reggie! Come on!" Betty yelled out as Veronica screamed. I didn't care. I let them run. Why? Because I had the key and the yacht.

"I'm gonna be richer than you.~" I sang out softly to myself. I chuckled and kissed the key before I got on the yacht. I turned it on and drove through the small dock and out to sea where we were before. Once I was there I anchored, suited up, and scuba dived right into the water.

*Archie's POV*

I was resting my head on my fist, elbow on the table, just thinking when Jughead took the book.

"500 pounds of gold and jewels?! That's a lot of hamburgers!" He said excitedly as he licked his lips. That's when an awful idea popped in my mind.

"You don't think Reggie was dumb enough to go after that treasure, do you?" I asked both of them. Please let the answer be no and that he just went home.

"He doesn't stand a chance. Anyone who sought out the treasure never made it out alive." Doctor Beaumont warned in a strict tone. Man, he can be creepy at times. What made him creepier was when the lightning flashed. The thunder rolled just as the door flung open. I hoped it was Reggie but it was Betty and Veronica.

"Archie!" Veronica yelled as she entered 1st.

"Archie! We saw them too!" Betty yelled after her and they both hugged me.

"Saw who?" I asked them.

"You're green eyed ghouls! They tried to get us!" She said as she tried to calm down.

"They tried to take my-*Gasp* My medallion! I lost it! Oh no! Archie, I'm so sorry." She said as she looked ready to cry.

"Uh oh. Let me guess, you ran into Reggie didn't you?" Jughead asked as he looked at the book.

"Veronica did. Then I did down at the marina." Betty told us.

"Um…..Where's Aria?" Jughead finally asked. The girls looked at each other before they screamed 'Oh no!'

"She was fighting off the ghouls!" Veronica said to us.

"We didn't mean to leave her!" Betty added in.

"We need to get down there, now! Reggie and Aria are in trouble!" I said as we ran to my car. Thank goodness the girls drove here. We got in and I drove us down there. I parked the car and we ran out to where the yacht was docked. It wasn't there.

"Oh no! Reggie must've borrowed daddy's yacht!" Veronica yelled out.

"How are we going to get him now?" Betty asked us.

"I don't know, but I hope Aria's alright." I say as I tried to think.

"We'll take my yacht. Come on!" Jughead said as he walked to a different part of the marina. We looked at each other in shock. We followed though. " _You_ have a _yacht_?" Veronica asked in shock. Jughead put his life vest on and tossed us some.

"She's not much, but 10 more payments and she's mine." He said as he showed it to us. It wasn't a yacht. It was a motor boat. Why didn't it surprise me.

"That's not a yacht!" Veronica yelled out.

"Hey! Don't dis the S.S. Aria!" He yelled out as he hopped in.

"Well?" He asked us. We put the vests on and hopped in. We soon sped off. I hope Reggie and Aria are alright.

*Aria's POV*

I woke up after feeling the yacht started moving.

"What the?" I questioned as I tried to get out of the closet and the smashed door. Just as I stand up the yacht did a sudden stop, which caused me to fly forward, and hit the wall.

"Owie." I whimpered out before slowly standing again.

"What the sail is going on?" I say out loud as I head up deck. I saw someone in a scuba suit suddenly go in the water.

*Not good. In this storm, they might get hurt.* I thought as I looked around. I saw no signs of the pirate ghouls nor the gang. But I did find Reggie's clothes.

*If that was Reggie, then he's just as dumb as I thought.* I thought as I rushed to put a suit on. I got into the cold rough waters and swam. I looked around and saw nothing.

*Where would he go?* I thought as I decided to swim around. I used my flash light to see where I was going. I soon saw another light.

*The sunken ship?* I thought as I followed quickly. I swam inside and found him. I had no idea the ghouls where behind us. I followed him. I had a bad feeling. I looked behind me and saw teeth. I screamed and swam. I found Reggie and grabbed him as I kept swimming. He looked behind him and was soon swimming as fast as I was. It grabbed his flipper and tried to eat him. I stopped and punched the sharks nose just as Reggie got the flipper off him. He then swam out the hole. I followed. I followed him into a small ditch. I got there and saw treasure.

*Now I remember. This is the cursed treasure I read about in the shop…..Oh sail boats!* I thought as I swam to him. I grabbed his shoulder to get his attention. He looked at me with glowing green eyes. I shut the chest. I gave him a look as I shook my head no. He had a mad look and shoved me back before opening it again. Then the ghouls shut it and growled at him. Uh oh. Reggie took the key and started swimming. I followed. They were on our tails. We were almost grabbed until a giant whale came and hit them. It forced them away from us and carried them a ways away. I smiled and exhaled in relief. He knew we were in trouble.

*Thank you friend.* I thought as I looked around for Reggie.

*Archie's POV*

We had seen no signs of Aria, so we figured she went after Reggie. Betty came with me as we suited up and went into the water. We started swimming around in search of the two. Our lights shined in the water as we swam further and deeper. We soon found the sunken ship Aria had found. We swam to a hole and a shark swam and turned right in front of us. Betty and I froze in fear as it swam off. We then saw a chewed up flipper and thought the worse. Betty and I sadly hugged each other. How were we going to explain this? Betty suddenly jumped, which made me jump. We saw Reggie, missing a flipper, and waving at us with both arms. He then wanted us to follow him, so we did. We followed him inside the ship to an air pocket. Once up we pulled the masks off to talk.

"So? You've come for the treasure huh?" He asks in a rude tone.

"No. We've come to save you. Where's Aria?" Betty said to him before asking about Aria. That was a good question. Where _was_ my cousin. We then felt the ground shake.

"I don't know." He says and shrugs.

"Listen to me. There's a curse on that treasure. Anyone who takes it, never comes back alive." I tell him.

"That's a load of crumb cake. I tried to take it and I'm still alive." He tells us.

"Aria probably saved you." I point out.

"Whatever." He mutters with an attitude.

"We came to get you and Aria. So lets go Reggie." Betty tells him. He didn't look to happy to hear that.

"Oh no. You just came down here for the treasure, just like Aria did. Well, you can't have it. It's mine!" He tells us before he shoves us back. He then puts his mask on and swims off. Great. We then felt another shake.

"What was that?" I asked.

"Well, unless I missed my guess, the volcanic crust is becoming unstable." Betty tells me.

"Then we need to get Aria and Reggie back to the Yacht. Quickly." I said. We put our masks on and dived.

*I hope Aria's alright.* I thought as I worried about her.

*Aria's POV*

I felt the shaking and knew instantly what was happening.

*If I destroy the treasure it'll save Reggie. Now I just have to find an opening so I can push the treasure in it.* I thought as I looked around. I got lucky and found an open spot. It was barely big enough and had hot air bubbles and steam spilling out. Perfect. I quickly swam to the treasure and started pushing. It was heavy. 500 pounds under water isn't easy to push mind you. But I had to do it. As much as Reggie annoyed me, he was still my friend…..Sort of. I started pulling and felt the shake again. I looked and the crack became larger. I had to hurry. I could tell I was getting closer, because of the heat, when I felt something hit my head. I saw Reggie push me away and go for the treasure. I tried to fight him. I was mad beyond all reason. I then saw two people helping me. It was Archie and Betty. They were trying to help me before the 3 ghouls attacked us. They went after Archie, Betty and Reggie as I was left alone.

*They can handle it. I need to destroy this.* I thought as I got behind the chest. I pushed it and it tumbled down the small slope. I went and started pulling it to the cracks.

*Almost there.* I thought as I kept pulling. The ground shook again and the cracks spread to the chest. I saw the ghouls coming at me. I had to swim back. Archie and Betty were holding Reggie back just as the chest fell into the cracks where there was lava.

"The treasure!" The captain ghoul yelled as him and the other two ghouls swam after it. Reggie didn't look so good as Archie and Betty pulled him up to the surface. I started swimming up before looking back. I saw the treasure and the ghouls melt and burn up before I followed the three back to the yacht. Once on board we got our tanks off and set Reggie down on the lawn chair.

"Reggie? Are you alright?" I asked him.

"Yeah, I'm fine now." He said as he took a few deep breaths.

"I don't know what came over me. I just couldn't resist all that treasure." He told us as he looked around before slumping back.

"Let me guess, the treasure was from the 1700's, stolen from royalty, and had a curse on it?" I asked them.

"Yeah. How'd you-oh yeah. You read it some time ago huh?" Jughead asked me. I nodded yes

"Reggie was affected by the curse. The curse of greed. Tha'ts the reason why he acted the way he did and had glowing green eyes." I said as I came to the conclusion. I then realized something.

"Here Veronica. Saved this for you. And don't worry, no curse on it." I said as I tossed her the medallion back.

"What? But how?" She asked as she smiled at it.

"It fell off Reggie as I was swimming back up, so I grabbed it. I figured you'd want it back. Plus, no treasure, no curse." I concluded to her. She smiled and held it close to her.

"Thank you." She said sweetly.

"Anyhow, if we did have that treasure, we'd be on easy street for eternity." Reggie said to us. I rolled my eyes.

"Some things are more important. Like friends." I say to him.

"Eternity. One of the many things money can't buy." Betty said to him. I nodded in agreement. Then I heard Veronica gasp.

"Wow! Would you look at that!" Betty said in surprise. I looked at where they were looking and gasped. It was the pirate ship. Well, actually, a ghost of it. I'm sure the 3 ghouls are now ghosts on their way to, Valhalla I think? Maybe heaven? Wherever they believe in. It disappeared into the sun, since the storm finally ended, and that was it.

"The treasure being destroyed set them free." I said softly with a small smile. That's when I felt a hug. From Reggie.

"Thank you so much for saving me!" He tells me.

"Um….You're welcome?" I said in a question. Reggie being nice tends to get me like this. Especially after the Robo-Reggie incident.

"You do care about me! Maybe even love me!" He says flirtatiously. I shoved him off me.

"Woah! 1. I kind of care. We're friends….Sort of. 2. No way! I don't love you! I just barely like you!" I scold him.

"I'll win your heart one day. And Betty's. And Veronica's." He tells us. I rolled my eyes at him. We made it back to the docks as Reggie non stopped apologized. Reggie begged Veronica to let him take her on a date as an apology. She said yes. Archie took Jughead and Betty home, we cut the weekend sea trip short, I got to keep all my souvenirs, except a shell and an antique that I gave to Jughead and Betty. Archie and I went inside. I showed my loot off and Aunt Mary was, well, I think okay with it. Either way, they're mine. After I put the bags in my room, I ran up to Archie's and began the article. We soon got to the conclusion.

"When the treasure was destroyed, thanks to me, the pirate ghouls were released from the curse and able to leave this plain of existence and move onto the next. At least that's our theory. ~Aria. I think Reggie realized how close he came to becoming a ghoul himself and is now becoming sincere, though not necessarily always affective, to acquire for his selfish desires. ~Archie. Yeah. He hugged me and claimed I loved him. The hug was weird. And I don't love him. I barely like him at all. ~Aria. Anyways, maybe one of these days, he'll realize there's more to life than riches. ~Archie. …...In a little town called Riverdale! ~Archie & Aria."

I stretched and smiled.

"If you need me, I'll be in my room." I say as I ruffled his hair. I went to my room and opened my laptop. I looked up how to videos and began my seashell projects until late into the night. I fell asleep at my desk. I woke up drenched in a cold sweat. It was dark outside still. My nightmares were coming back.

*Great! Just great! Right when I got used to them being gone!* I thought as I sighed. I got into pajamas and went to bed in my bed. I woke up a few times before morning. Well, actually around noon time. I kept nodding off through out the day. Once Monday rolled around, I wasn't better. I kept falling asleep in school. I hoped I'd sleep better later tonight.


	47. Chapter 46

**Hey** **Peeps! That's right! It's a fan made chapter! Well...Sort of. I got the inspiration from R.L. Stein's The Haunting Hour TV show. The episode was called Dreamcatcher. I altered it slightly but most of my inspiration came from there. Including the villain in this story. I just changed his name...Enjoy!**

Chapter 46: The Dream Catcher's Web

*Aria's POV*

This wasn't good. Not good at all. My nightmares were getting a lot worse. Not only were they affecting my grades, performance and what not, but I couldn't even remember what they were about. Not at all. I've tried everything to remember but nothing worked. I was sent home early because I fell asleep in Ms. Grundy's class again. Did I mention it's been almost 2 weeks since I've had a good sleep? Yeah, this started on Saturday night during spring break and now it's Tuesday of the next week….I think…..Yeah, it's Tuesday. I'll sleep for about 4 to 6 hours a night, not straight through I might add, plus an extra hour or two tops through out the day. It's bad. I was walking home, because Archie was still in class, and Aunt Mary and Uncle Fred, well, I didn't want to bother them. I'm sure they got a call anyways. I had a note in my bag too just in case.

*Man. What am I going to do? If I don't sleep right I could wind up sick. Or worse!* I thought as I tried to stay up. I didn't see the light was green as I started crossing.

*Honk honk*

I was jolted awake and jumped back just as a car flew by me. I ran across and panted.

"That's it! I need to do something!" I said firmly to myself. I happened to be right in front of Doctor Beaumont's shop when I looked up. I saw a beautiful dream catcher right in the front window. It was black with white and purple string to form a web of sorts. It even had a bead on it. I knew the bead represented the spider that would catch bad dreams in the thread, also known as the web, and eat the nightmares to make them go away.

*At this point, I'll try anything.* I thought as I entered the shop.

"Hello Aria. Playing hooky today?" Doctor Beaumont asked me. I shook my head no.

"I'm falling asleep in school. It's been almost 2 weeks. I can't sleep right." I tell him.

"Horrific nightmares that you can't seem to remember?" He asks me. I nod my head yes as I yawned, giving a squeak as I do. Yeah. I don't think I've mentioned, I squeak when I yawn.

"And you saw the dream catcher and are desperate at this point?" He asked me.

"Yeah. How much?" I asked him.

"I wasn't going to sell it, but you seem to really need it. Hm….You're responsible too…...Alright. I'll sell it to you. But there's a warning for it." He tells me. He was telling me something but I started dozing off.

"Understand?" I heard him ask. I woke up a bit.

"Yeah. I understand. How much?" I asked him. "$25 and I guarantee no more nightmares ever again." He tells me. I shoved my money right at him. He put it in a bag as I squeaked a yawn again.

"Hang it over your bed before you sleep." He tells me.

"Right. Thank you." I say as I leave and head home.

*Doctor Beaumont's POV*

I watched Aria leave as I shook my head.

"I doubt she even heard my warning. Oh well. Let's hope she never has to meets _him._ " I say to the secret audience watching this as I went back to cleaning.

*Aria's POV*

I hurried home and walked through the door.

"Aria Andrews!" I heard Uncle Fred scold as he stood at the door. I gave a nervous chuckle with a smile to match.

"The school called. You're falling asleep in class?" He asks me.

"I've been getting bad nightmares. I can't even sleep through the night anymore. I'm ok though. I got a dream catcher to help me." I say to him as I showed him. He looks at me before sighing.

"Fine. But if it doesn't work, then you see a psychologist to help." He tells me.

"It'll work. I promise." I say t him.

"Alright. Why don't you go take a nap. You look horrible." He tells me.

"Gee. And I worked _so_ hard on my make up." I say sarcastically as I head up the steps. I missed a step and almost fell. I caught the railing just in time.

"I'm ok." I say after I heard my uncle sigh. I went into my room and hung the dream catcher over my headboard and smiled.

"Maybe now I can sleep." I mumbled as I laid down and fell asleep.

*Aria's Dream*

I woke up in a field. I looked and saw all the flowers. Roses. Some were silver with pearls in them and the rest were blue with light blue and white stars on them. I stood up and looked around me. The wind blew in my hair and I smiled. I started roaming around. I then saw a giant rainbow saber tooth tiger come up to me. I played and cuddled with it. I was enjoying this place. I failed to notice a dark spot with silver blue eyes staring at me as I played. I reached for a cloud and turned it into a bird. I giggled as it flew off. I followed it to a stone area. It was decorated with flowers and statues. I smiled.

"I wish there was music." I said softly. Soon music began playing. I started dancing elegantly to it.

"I wish I had a dance partner." I said softly. Soon the statues came to life. I started dancing with them. Soon one waltzed with me. It turned into Jughead. He spun me over to the next statue. It turned into Dilton as soon as I touched it. After a bit, he spun me away and both boys bowed to me. I blushed and giggled softly. They went to say something but I heard someone else.

"Aria. Time to wake up." I heard as my dream world faded.

*Aria's POV Awake*

I woke up and looked at Uncle Fred.

"Wha?" I asked sleepily.

"It's dinner time." He tells me. I stretched.

"Dinner already?" I asked as I looked at the clock.

"Sleep well?" He asks me.

"I didn't want to wake up yet." I say as I stretched. I got out of bed and followed him never the less. I felt better. Much better actually. I sat at the table and waited.

"You look better." Archie told me.

"I feel better too." I say as I squeaked a yawn again.

"Oh.~ You still do that?" Aunt Mary asked me in a baby like tone.

"Yeah. Never out grew it unfortunately." I say in a slightly annoyed tone.

"Well, I'm glad you slept well. I suppose that dream catcher works after all." Uncle Fred told me just as dinner was put in front of me.

"Spaghetti and meatballs! Yum!" I say as I start eating.

"Dream catcher?" Archie asked me. I nod my head yes and swallowed.

"On the way home, I passed Doctor Beaumont's shop and saw the dream catcher in the window. I figured I'd try it and it works." I say happily before I take another large bite.

"Huh. Maybe I can use that for my next weird mystery." He says as he starts eating.

"Mhm. It's not a bad idea." I tell him. We finished eating and I decided to just go to bed. I was still tired after all. I went to bed with sweet dreams, unaware of the dark spot and the silverish blue eyes watching me from that dark spot.

*Three days later*

I felt so refreshed. I couldn't believe it. That dream catcher was a miracle worker. It was Friday now. I finished school, did extra credit to get my grades up again, and was now at work. I gave Jughead his usual meal and skated around happily. Nothing could go wrong. Or so I thought.

*Archie's POV*

"Does Aria look happier to you?" Jughead asked me as he started wolfing down his burgers.

"Yeah. She got a dream catcher and has been sleeping very well ever since." I say as I started eating my burger.

"Well. *Ohm nom nom* I'm glad. *Ohm nom* She's sleeping again." He said as he keeps eating.

"Yeah…..Hey, I wonder if I can look at her dream catcher. To research it better." I said as I finished my food.

"You should ask her." He says as he finished as well.

"She might not let me." I said as I paid and tipped.

"Hey! That's my girlfriend, so you better tip her better than two dollars." Jughead scolded me all of a sudden. I jumped in surprise over this.

"I don't have much else." I say to him. He sighed and left money on the table…Wait.

"Jughead…..This is $30." I say in shock.

"So?" He says as he finished his drink.

"That's a lot of money for a tip." I tell him. He shrugs.

"She's worth it. Plus, she always makes me smile. And she also looks attractive holding those burgers." He says with a goofy grin and a blush.

"Jughead!" I groaned out while giving him a stern look.

"What?" He asked innocently. I just sighed.

"Let's go." I say and guide him out of there.

"Where are we going?" He asked me.

"To my house. I wanna look at Aria's dream catcher." I tell him.

"Nu-uh. Not without her permission." He tells me.

"We live in the same house. It's not a big deal." I tell him.

"Remember last time?" He asked me.

* _Flashback_ *

 _"_ _Archie Andrews! What are you doing in my room!" Aria screamed at me. "I needed some batteries." I tell her as I took some out of her science project. Next thing I knew, I was on the ground. She was sitting on me and pulling my arm back like she was going to break it. "I told you not to come in here!" She yells out. "Alright alright! I'm sorry!" I scream and dropped the batteries. Once she let me go, I ran._

 _*End flashback*_

"Yeah…..But I'm not taking anything. I'm just looking. No harm in that right?" I asked him.

"Tell that to your arm. She'll break it this time." He tells me.

"Then she won't find out." I tell him. We made it back home and I went right up to her room.

"Jughead, come on!" I say to him.

"I'd rather not." He tells me. I smack my forehead.

"Just get up here." I tell him.

"Alright alright. Sheesh. Bossy." He says as he follows me up. He comes in and looks around.

"Wow. Her room is nice. And clean too." He says in awe.

"Maybe she can help you clean yours." I say as I grabbed the dream catcher.

"Hey, my room's clean." He pouts.

"Jughead, I can't even see your floor." I comment.

"It's fine." He tells me. I rolled my eyes. I was examining it as I saw a bead on it.

"I wonder why they keep the bead on it?" I ask as I poked it.

"Not sure." He tells me. I grab it and gently twist it when I heard the door open.

"I'm home!" Aria yelled out. Jughead rushed out and down to her. I had jumped and unknowingly broke the bead off before putting back in it's place. I rushed out and went downstairs to see Jughead kissing Aria.

*Aria's POV*

I had such a great day at work. I made $70 in tips today, thanks to Jughead. He's so sweet. I made it home before the sun set and walked in.

"I'm home!" I shout out. I then saw Jughead rush down the stairs.

"Hey." I say as I toss my bag to the side.

"What're yo-mmm?" I started to asked what he was doing here, since I didn't know he would be over, before he embraced me in a hug and kissed me. I was a bit shocked but kissed him back. How could I not?

"Really Jughead? While I'm home?" I heard Archie ask in a grumpy tone. I pulled back.

"Hey, he tips well, he gets some sugar." I tell Archie with a cheeky grin. He groaned and covered his eyes.

"Aria." He groaned out as I giggled.

"How'd ya know I tipped?" Jughead asked me.

"Because the most Archie will tip is a $5." I tell him.

"Really Arch? $5?" He asked him.

"It's a good tip." Archie says. I rolled my eyes.

"So? Helping Archie with his column?" I asked him.

"Yup. I didn't think you'd be home." He tells me.

"Yeah. Fridays go by fast." I tell him.

"Plus I need to get ready. Tonight's date night with Dilton." I remind him. He pouted.

"Don't worry. We still have ours tomorrow." I remind him. He perked up.

"I can't wait." He tells me as he became excited. I giggled at his child like excitement.

"I'm going to get ready. Hope you guys have fun." I tell them and peck Jughead's lips before I go upstairs and get ready. I failed to notice the missing bead.

*3 hours later*

It was past 8pm as I started heading home. Dilton got a ride from his dad and offered to take me home. I declined. His dad still seemed to dislike me. The ride would've been awkward. So, I walked. I got home and yawned. I went to my room and got into black shorts with purple bow prints on it and a purple tank top with a big black bow print on it and slipped under the covers. Allegro wasn't sleeping with me.

*Odd. He always sleeps with me.* I thought to myself. I shrugged and fell asleep.

*Dream*

It was night time in my dream. Weird. I'm in my room. Did I wake up? I sat in my bed. I then saw a glimps of a shadow moving. I looked.

*Was that a…..hand?* I thought as I slipped out of bed. I walked to my door and opened it. I felt like something was watching me. I looked around but saw nothing. It was so weird. I walked out to the dark hall.

"Hello? Is anyone home?" I called out. Nothing.

"Allegro?" I called. Nothing.

*He usually comes when I call.* I thought. I took two steps before I heard a hissing chuckle. I tensed up.

*What was that?* I thought in fear. I know in horror movies you never look behind you, but I started to turn around anyways. I saw large amounts of black and flashes of claws and silverish blue eyes as I was grabbed. I screamed and started struggling. I felt my arm get scratched in the process of being grabbed before it was gone.

*Awake*

I woke up drenched in a cold sweat. I was shaking and panting.

*Calm down. It was just a bad dream.* I thought to myself. Once I calmed down, I realized something.

*Wait…..A bad dream? I shouldn't be having those.* I thought as I turned around. I saw my dream catcher was still there.

*But how?* I thought as I reached to grab it. Then I saw my arm. I quickly turned my lamp on and looked at it. I had scratches.

*From when whatever it was grabbed me….But….It's just a dream.* I thought as I looked at it.

"Right?" I asked myself softly. I decided to clean my arm up. I had no bandages so I left it as is and tried to sleep. I woke up two more times before staying awake. It was morning anyhow. I went downstairs and went to make food.

"Hey. You alright? You look pale." Archie greeted me before asking me this.

"Yeah. I'm alright." I lie as I pour a glass of peach juice. I drank some and sighed.

"Where's Aunt Mary and Uncle Fred?" I asked as I looked around.

"Dad got an emergency call from work and mom went to have a ladies day." He tells me. I nod in understanding. I put the juice away and set the glass down. I was glad I had slipped on my gloves before coming down here. I'm not going to make Archie worry over nothing.

*Besides, maybe I scratched myself.* I thought as I made cereal. After I went to take a shower. I saw no other marks on me at all. I showered, changed into my biker outfit, but kept the long fingerless gloves on, and hurried out the door.

*Maybe seeing Jughead will comfort me.* I thought as I hurried off to his house.

*Time skip to 5pm*

I was tired but tried not to show it. We were at my house right now, snuggled up on the couch, as we watched a horror movie together. Arachnophobia. I felt weird watching it but didn't mind. I started falling asleep as things became distorted around me.

"There once was an old lady who swallowed a spider." I heard as I looked around.

"That wriggled and jiggled inside her." I heard again. I looked and saw my vision was blurred even more.

"She swallowed the spider to catch the fly." I heard. It sounded like children. I saw blurred out children surrounding me.

"But I don't know why she swallowed that fly." They sang as I saw long black fabric hanging above and around me. I turned and saw the familiar eyes as I got a better look at the thing. It had a human face with sharp teeth and long spider like arms and legs. My eyes went wide as it tilted its head and looked at me.

"Perhaps she'll die!" It hissed out before it swiped its hand at me. I screamed but it covered my mouth with his. I felt sticky substance spill inside my mouth and I started choking as he pulled back and snarled.

"Aria! Wake up!" I heard Jughead's voice before I woke up. I was on the couch and he was in front of me. I opened my mouth but started choking and spitting something up.

"Hold on." He said and stuck his fingers in my mouth. He then pulled something out. Cobwebs. A bunch of them. Once they were out of my mouth, I could breathe better. I coughed and teared up. This was serious now.

"What happened?" He asked as his voice was filled with worry.

"Jughead…..I think I'm going to die." I say as I hugged him and started crying. He hugged me back.

"What do ya mean?" He asked me. I told him of the thing I keep seeing and I even showed him my arm.

"Somethings terribly wrong Jughead." I say as I try to dry my tears.

"I'll go get Archie and talk to Doctor Beaumont. You try to stay awake by any means." He tells me. I nod my head as he hurried off. I put my knees to my chest and started rocking back and forth. I took his advice and found one of Archie's emergency energy drinks. I knew better but I drank one anyways. Anything to keep awake.

*Jughead's POV*

I told Archie what happened and what she told me was happening since Friday night. We went to Doctor Beaumont's and I rushed inside.

"Doctor Beaumont! We need your help! Aria's in danger!" I yelled out to him. He came out to me just as Archie came inside.

"What is with all the yelling?" He asked me.

"Aria's in danger." I tell him. I then explained her nightmares.

"I warned her." He suddenly said.

"What do you mean 'warned her'? Warned her of what?" Archie asked him.

 _*Flashback Doctor Beaumont's POV*_

" _Now you need to hear the warning. The bead represents a spider that eats dreams, but if you remove the bead, the dream catcher becomes a dream eater. A spider creature will appear in your dreams. It will cause nightmares and make you go insane or full of fear until he devours you. Understand?" I asked her. She looked up at me, almost as if she had just woken up, and responded._

 _*End Flashback Jughead's POV*_

"You gave her a warning while she was sleep deprived? And you didn't try to warn her after?!" I yelled out. You bet your burger buns I was mad. My girlfriend might actually die. I think this is her 3rd near death experience? Still.

"She shouldn't have removed the bead then. I thought she would be responsible with it." Beaumont said.

"Um…..What if she didn't?" Archie asked him.

"She must've…..Unless someone else removed the bead…...Perhaps a red headed boy who wanted to see it for himself?" Beaumont said as he indicated Archie broke it. Archie thought about it before going wide eyed.

"When she came home. I jumped while playing with the bead. It must've…...Broke off." He was saying before trailing off.

"I told you we shouldn't have done that." I told him.

"How do we fix this?" Archie asked him.

"You need to weave a new dream catcher with a spider and I'll perform a chant to seal it back up in the darkness. It'll keep escaping and attack those with broken dream catchers. So, as we seal him in the new one, we burn the old one." He tells us.

"I have her staying awake right now. What do we need?" I asked him. He gave us a list of what we needed and we hunted for all of it. I hope Aria's alright.

*Aria's POV*

*What's taking them so long?* I thought to myself. I had been bouncing around and drove poor Allegro crazy. It's been 3 hours and I'm having a caffeine crash. Not good. This was like 'Nightmare on Elm St.' Except less comedy, more nightmare fuel, no chance of entering the real world, and a lot more real. I started nodding off.

*Gotta stay awake!* I thought as I headed to the bathroom. I turned the light on and went in. I started splashing water on my face to wake me up. I then heard a creak. I spun around and looked all around me. Nothing. I shrugged and started to turn when I saw a shadow in the shower curtain.

*What?* I thought as I crept over to it. I was scared. Yes. I admit it. Who wouldn't be? I grabbed the curtain.

*Please let nothing be there.* I thought as my horror movie senses were screaming at me. I pulled the shower curtain back. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I sighed and smiled with a small chuckle.

"I'm loosing it." I thought to myself. I turned and decided to go back downstairs. I didn't need cold water on my face after that. I opened the door just to find that spider man creature staring at me menacingly before screaming and lunging at me. I screamed and slammed the door shut right on his long bony fingers. It screamed in pain as I tried to keep it closed.

"No! Jughead! Archie! Help me!" I screamed in hopes they would hear me. The door then slammed open and I was sent flying backwards. It came in and it was **huge!** It looked to be 8, maybe 9, feet tall.

"No…...No! I'm awake! I'm awake!" I screamed and teared up.

"If you were awake, I wouldn't be here!" It hissed out in a raspy voice as it showed me it's sharp teeth. I was trapped.

"Aria!" I heard.

"Jughead! Help!" I screamed just as I was grabbed. I started fighting but was wrapped in a web and was soon being dragged off.

*Jughead's POV*

We got what we needed and made a new dream catcher. Now we needed a bead. We dug in our pockets and pulled out what we had.

"I have this." I said as I pulled out a small spider pendant. The body was the size of my pinkie nail and black with silver legs. It was once an earring but it broke. It had a loop though. I was going to give it to Aria to see what she wanted to do with it.

"It'll have to do." Doctor Beaumont said as he attached it near the opening in the middle.

"We should hurry. If she's tired, she might fall asleep soon." Arch said. I nodded in agreement. We soon hurried to the house. Archie opened the door and we heard a scream.

"Aria!" I yelled out and ran to her.

"Jughead! Help!" She screamed out in her sleep. I went to wake her quickly but then she disappeared. Vanished into thin air.

"She Disappeared!" I gasped out.

"We must hurry. One or both of you must go into the dream realm and pull her out, or else she'll be gone forever." Beaumont told us. I panicked.

"How long do we have?" Archie asked him.

"Until sunrise. By then it'll be too late." He tells us.

"Then why waste time? I'm going in." I tell them as I head up to her room.

"What?!" Archie yelled out in shock as the two followed me.

"You heard me. I'm going in. I'm going to pull her out and save her." I say as I get in her room and lay down on the bed.

"Man, this bed is soft." I say as I got ready. Sleeping was my thing.

"Jughead, you can't." Archie tells me. I shook my head.

"Sorry Arch, no changing my mind. I need to save my girlfriend." I tell him.

"Let me go. I got her into this." He tells me.

"No. I need you here. I got an idea. I'll set an alarm to wake up with her." I say as I set the alarm for 4 hours.

"This should be plenty of time for me to find her." I say as I set the clock down.

"What's your idea?" Arch asked me.

"I can fall asleep easily. I need you here just in case I don't wake up. She might wake up on the couch so you set an alarm for 4 hours and put it by the couch. Once Doctor Beaumont sees her awake, he can do the spell." I tell them.

"But where do we burn it?" Arch asked me.

"Put it on the grill in the back. Simple." I tell him. He looked shocked.

"Wow. That's actually a good plan." He tells me.

"Of course. Full proof. My girlfriend is too important to make mistakes." I tell him.

"See you in a few hours." I say as I lay down and shut my eyes.

*Archie's POV*

It scares me sometimes when Jughead plans like this and it didn't involve food. Once he started lightly snoring, I took the dream catcher. I ran downstairs and got ready. I put an alarm next to the couch as Doctor Beaumont got ready. I rushed upstairs and sat in a chair. Now to wait. Good thing I'm not tired.

*Dream Jughead's POV*

I woke up in Aria's room. I knew I was dreaming. I got up and began looking around. I saw traces of webs going from the bathroom to downstairs and out the door. Without thinking, I ran. I ran and followed the traces of webs. I followed them into the woods and to a small cave. I knew this was it because it was covered in webs. I looked around. This wasn't Riverdale. This was somewhere else. Maybe a place this legend originated from. I went to the entrance.

"Aria!" I yelled out for her.

"Jughead?!" I heard her yell. Yup. She was in there. I took a deep breath and crawled in. The web wasn't that sticky but the nest was larger than I thought.

"Aria! Keep calling me! I'll follow your voice!" I yelled to her.

"Jughead run! It's in here! We're not alone!" She yelled out as I followed one of the many paths.

"I don't care!" I yelled out. I was terrified, but Aria meant a lot to me. I looked and saw shoes and pieces of clothing on the webs. Anywhere from a child's to an adults. I gulped.

"Jughead please! I'm begging you! Turn back! Please! It eats them! It eats people!" She yells out. I was getting closer.

"I can see that. But I don't care. You're my girlfriend Aria. I love you! You'd do the same for me." I tell her. I then stopped and grew wide eyed. I just told her I loved her.

"You do?" She asked in shock. Her voice sounded like it cracked.

"Yeah. Yeah I do! I love you Aria Andrews!" I yelled out as I soon found her. She was tied up in a web and had tear filled eyes.

"Jughead." She whispered to me. I ran over and started to pull the webs off her.

"Tell me when you're ready. For now, let's go." I said as I freed her. I grabbed her hand and helped her up before starting to guide her out, keeping my eyes open for the spider creature.

*3rd POV*

Aria couldn't believe what she heard. Jughead loved her. Three words she didn't expect him to say…. _ **Ever!**_ Now wasn't the time for her to think about that though. She needed to keep a clear mind and think. She kept an eye out as she could hear the hissing.

"We need to hurry. He can feel our vibrations from the web." She tells Jughead.

"I know. I'm trying." He says as they noticed it got harder to move.

Meanwhile, in the real world, Doctor Beaumont was downstairs, preparing for the spell with Archie's help.

"Are you sure this'll work?" Archie asked him.

"Of course this will work. I've done this once before at a summer camp many years ago." Doctor Beaumont explains to him. Archie knew it was pointless to ask him why sell it if it was a high risk. He stopped questioning him after getting the dice, after telling them stories to assist them and for helping to free Aria from Limbo.

"I trust you." He tells the older man.

Meanwhile, Aria tried to keep going but she felt her feet get stuck.

"Jughead! I'm stuck!" She says as she tried to free herself. She was now starting to panic. Jughead started to help but the web suddenly shook violently and both fell on the very sticky spot. They both struggled but then felt vibrations. That's when he appeared. He smiled and showed his sharp teeth in delight over the two teenagers he would make a meal from.

"Who are you!" Jughead yelled out as he tried to be brave. He chuckled at Jughead's bravery.

"I'm the spider of all the dream catchers. The Dream Eater!" He said as he got closer. He bent down and got in both teens faces.

"And, you two, are my next meal." He hissed out in a very scary tone.

Back in the real world, Archie ran upstairs to check on Jughead. He was shaking and sweating. Then the alarm started beeping.

In the dream world, Both teens were afraid until they heard a beeping sound. Then two. The creature looked around.

"What's that?" Aria asked in worry.

"The alarms! I set the one in your room for me and another in the living room where you last were. We should be waking up!" He said as both seemed to go ghost. They were fading. The Dream Eater looked between the two in shock. He didn't try to attack. He knew it would be useless at this point. The two faded from that world and both woke up. Jughead woke up on Aria's bed.

"Aria!" Jughead exclaimed as he ran downstairs, Archie at the tow, to see her awake. She had woken up on the couch she fell asleep on and looked around in fear. She heard thumping footsteps on the stairs as Doctor Beaumont was chanting. She saw the boys before seeing a shadow. She looked in front of her and saw a faded image of the Dream Eater before it turned into mist and was sucked into the new dream catcher. Archie immediately ran outside and turned the grill on, setting the old dream catcher on fire. Jughead ran to Aria and hugged her.

"I'm so glad that worked." He said to her. She hugged back before looking at his face.

"Jughead...Are….Are you crying?" She asked in shock. Jughead nodded as a few tears fell. Aria teared up and wiped his tears away.

"Don't cry. I'll cry." She said as a tear fell.

"Sorry." He said as he used his thumb to wipe away her tear.

"I just….I got scared I'd loose you." He suddenly told her.

"Jughead." She whispered as she hugged him. "You were so brave. Thank you." She said as a few more tears fell. Archie came in and saw their moment. He decided to move Doctor Beaumont to the kitchen to give the two alone time.

"I wonder what happened in there?" Archie asked as he meant the creature's realm.

"That's for them to know and for them to tell." Doctor Beaumont said as they waited in the kitchen.

*Aria's POV*

"Jughead…..Thank you for not listening to me when I told you to run." She tells him as they still held each other.

"You're my girl, I'm not leaving you in danger. Besides, Arch would never forgive me...Nor Dilton. Actually, no one would forgive me." He says as he pulls back and thinks about it. I giggled and dries my eyes.

"Thanks for believing me too. I know I must've sounded crazy." I tell him. It _did_ sound crazy to a normal person. Good thing our little group isn't _completely_ normal.

"Honestly, I probably wouldn't have if it wasn't for the fact that I pulled _spider webs_ out of your _mouth._ " He says as he shuddered.

"Do I even want to know?" He asked me.

"You'll find out in the article." I say with a smile.

"I can't get a sneak preview?" He asked me.

"You did already." I trolled him. He frowned before smiling and laughing a bit. I laughed lightly with him. After what I've been through, I needed to laugh.

"We should see what Archie and Doctor Beaumont want." I say as I stand up. I grabbed his hand and helped him up.

"Yeah." He agreed as we both walked into the kitchen.

"Aria, do you still want the dream catcher?" Doctor Beaumont asked me. I shook my head no.

"I don't want to risk someone breaking it again. I think it's safer with you." I tell him. Honestly, I still want it, but I'm not risking it.

"Are you sure? I know you still want it and your nightmares might return." He tells me.

"I'm sure. I'll risk the nightmares over that again. Besides, with my luck, someone might brake it as a joke. No. I think it's safer with you." I say to him.

"You do realize, it happens with _all_ dream catchers, right?" He asks me.

"Yes, but his main power comes from that one. Others would be very weak and can easily be discarded to leave you alone. That one though…...Keep it. I've learned my lesson." I say.

"What lesson?" Archie asks me.

"To not be so desperate and to always listen to warning, even if it means being reminded." I say to him.

"Well, it seems you _don't_ need this as much as you thought." Doctor Beaumont tells me.

"I guess not." I say to him. He then hands it to me.

"But at least put it in your trunk, just in case." He tells me.

"No refunds, no exchange, no substitution and no giving it as a gift." He suddenly tells me with a small smile.

"Besides, it would be a shame if the spider charm was not to be given to you by Jughead but left with me." He adds as he suddenly left. I tilted my head and wondered what he meant until I looked at the dream catcher. I saw it. A small spider charm in the middle.

"Jughead? Were you going to give me this charm?" I asked him.

"Yeah, I was. I found it and thought you'd like it." He tells me. I hold the dream catcher gently to my chest in a hug as I looked at him.

"Thank you. It might not seem much, but I know exactly why you were going to give it to me." I tell him.

"Aw, well." He said as he rubbed the back of his head and blushed.

"What are you going to do with it?" Archie asked me.

"Keep it in my room for now. I'll put it in my trunk where I keep my other treasures." I tell them as I started heading to my room.

"Other treasures?!" Archie and Jughead asked in shock at the same time. I didn't answer them as I rushed in my room. Allegro was on my bed, wagging his tail and panting as he saw me, when I entered.

"Hey boy." I say happily to him. I put the dream catcher in a safe spot inside my chest before shutting it. I knew it would be safe there.

*I'll buy a lock and key, just in case.* I thought as I went down the stairs. I hugged Jughead goodbye as Archie drove him home. Aunt Mary and Uncle Fred came home and hugged me.

"Aunt Mary…..Can we talk?" I asked her suddenly.

"Sure sweetie." She says as she guides me into the kitchen. She grabs juice for me and sits with me.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" She asks me.

"About love." I said to her. She ahed and nodded for me to continue.

"How do you know what's love and what's a crush?" I asked her. She give me a look before it hit her.

"Oh.~ I see. One of them said something." She tells me. I nod my head yes.

"Jughead….He….He said 'I love you.' and I can say it back whenever I'm ready." I tell her.

"And Dilton hasn't said those word either, has he?" She asked me. I shook my head no.

"And you don't want to say that until you know for sure, do you." She said to me more than asked. I nod my head yes.

"Then don't. Not until you know which one is the one for you." She tells me.

"Is it really that simple?" I asked her.

"Maybe not, but it's the simplest and probably the best one." She tells me. I nod my head.

"Alright. Thanks Aunt Mary." I say as I hug her. I drink my juice.

"When did he tell you?" She asked me.

"He told me a while ago as he saved my life." I tell her.

"Oh, well that's ni-wait? Saved your life?" She gasped out.

"It'll be in Archie's column in the school paper. I should go help him type before going to bed. Night. Love you." I say and kiss her cheek before rushing upstairs and into Archie's room. I was telling him what happened as he used the notes from Jughead's side of the story to type everything up before I took over and typed the conclusion.

"And so, the Dream Eater was sealed up and won't be a bother anymore. Just don't take the spider off the catcher and you'll be safe. I learned a lot. Like how I should be less desperate, but besides that, how also I should really pay attention to warnings. I was severally sleep depraved, but I _still_ should've went back and asked him to repeat the warning for me. ~Aria. And I learned to not go in Aria's room and touch her stuff. ~Archie. You should've learned that after last time. ~Aria. Yes yes. You're right. A sore arm you could've broke should've been clear enough. It was my recklessness that caused this. From now on, I'll asked before I enter and I'll look and not touch. ~Archie. I just goes to show, asking to repeat yourself, listen to warnings, entering private spaces and touching some one else's stuff without permission might not seem like a big deal, but could cause more harm then you think. So always respect other's stuff and space and don't be afraid to ask questions and pay attention to details and warning. I know Archie, Jughead and, especially, myself will do. ~Aria. ….In a little town called Riverdale! ~Archie  & Aria!"

I finished typing for Archie and got up.

"Gonna go sleep." I tell him.

"Really?" He asked me.

"Yes. I drank one of your dumb energy drinks and I'm still feeling the crash." I tell him as I start heading to my room.

"You did **what?** " He asked in shock but I ignored him. I laid in bed, Allegro cuddling up to me, as I quickly fell asleep.


	48. Chapter 47

Chapter 47: Dream Girl!

*Aria's POV*

I kept thinking about my dream on the way to school. I kept dreaming of black horses running around. It was weird. And weird equals a mystery. Let's hope not. I need a small brake after the Dream Eater nearly killed me. Archie and I got to school and I was immediately hugged by Dilton. He did this all week after I told him what happened on Monday and then he read the article. Did I mention it's Friday already? I decided to walk with Dilton to my locker since he felt bad.

"I didn't mean to worry you." I say softly to him. "It's quite alright, since I now know you're fine. Anymore nightmares?" He asks me. I shake my head no.

"Not really. It's still early though." I tell him. I saw Big Ethel and, boy, did she not look so good.

"Hey BE, you ok?" I asked her as she came over to me.

"No. Not really." She said sleepily to me.

"I have to go Aria. I need to get ready to show off our science project." He says softly as he goes to leave. I looked over my shoulder and watched him leave with a pinch of sadness. Was he upset with me?

"Did you and Dilton fight?" She asked me suddenly.

"No. I told him what happened to me, which it should be in the article already, and worried." I say softly to her. She nodded in understanding.

"I just got the paper. I was going to read it in homeroom." She tells me as she showed me the paper.

"I had Archie post it, since it's rare I type it almost fully based on my view." I explain as we started walking together.

"Yeah, but it's a good thing you survived. I've noticed these mysteries are getting very dangerous." She tells me.

"I agree. But not all of them are at least. Plus, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger….. To bad it's not enough for the twins." I tell her with a small chuckle. She laughed to my joke.

"Are they _really_ that bad?" She asked me.

"Sometimes. They're usually good for me though." I tell her. We heard the bell ring as we went our separate ways.

*Last class of the day.*

I was sitting in class, drawing until class started. It was a free class actually but Miss Grundy was teaching it. That means mostly reading or homework. Anyhow, I was drawing when a paper plane flew at me. I looked at it before opening it.

'Hey babe, how bout you and me tonight? Vinnie.'

I made a gross face as I read it. I looked up and saw him leaning against the wall. His eyebrows wiggled up and down as he gave a sly perverted smile. I shuddered in disgust. I crumbled the paper and threw it at him. He caught it and did nothing. I rolled my eyes.

"Vinnie still bothering you?" BE asked me. I nodded yes.

"He seriously needs to get it through his thick skull that no means no." I say softly to her.

"He thinks you saying no means yes?" She asked as she yawns. She must be that tired.

"That's right. There's a saying that's told by college guys in my area. No means yes and yes means a-" I was starting to say just as Miss Grundy came in.

"Please take your seats class!" She said as she walked in the same time the bell rang. I swear that woman worked like clock work.

"Students! Dilton Doiley would like to make an announcement on his next science project." She announced happily as Dilton stood next to her, holding the dream machine we worked on together.

"Thank you Miss Grundy, but actually, my assistant and girlfriend, Aria, helped me out." He said with a small smile. He was so proud of the fact that, not only he was showing off his inventions, but got to brag about me as well. I heard a small humph from Jughead, who sat behind me, over Dilton saying girlfriend. It's tough having two boyfriends. Especially when one tells you they love you and the other hasn't yet. I peaked and saw Vinnie pouting over that too. I was happy about it but worried as well. He always tried to hurt the three of us just to get me for himself. I hated it. Oh well. At least he hasn't tried to get into the house yet. Or my room anyhow.

"Oh, well that's nice." Miss Grundy said with a proud smile. Dilton and I were her best students as well as Betty and Jughead when he's not sleeping.

"Dreams. For years, man kind has pondered over the mystery of what dreams really are. Are they just figments of our sleeping imaginations? Or do our dreams occur in another dimension just as real as our own?" Dilton asked as he was giving his speech. I suggested asking the questions to help make it interesting. I smiled because he took my advise for it instead of ignoring it. I felt the questions make the speech interesting. It caught most of the class's attention from what I saw.

"Does that mean I owe Pop Tate for all the burgers I ate in my dreams?" I heard Jughead whisper to Archie. I giggled softly at what he said.

"I plan to explore the mysteries of dreams with our new invention. The Dream Monitoring Helmet." He said as he paced at first before showing it off. Thank goodness he took Midge's advice to make the names shorter.

"I just need a volunteer to help me, since Aria refused." He said as he looked over at me.

"After my last dream experience, I don't want to explore right now." I say to him. It's true. But I knew someone who would volunteer.

"Oh! Oh! Pick me!" BE said as she stood up eagerly. Point for me. I knew she'd volunteer with the reoccurring Nightmare she's been having.

"Good. It looks like I have my volunteer." He says happily. I think he was upset it wasn't me. Oh well. It's not like I dream about him and/or Jughead or anything inappropriate. BE immediately went up to him in happiness. She hugged his arm happily as she asked to help her get rid of the nightmare she kept having of a monster named 'Arnie' chasing her and replace him with Jughead. I heard Jughead groan as a ping went through my heart.

*She still loves Jughead…...But he wants nothing to do with her.* I thought as I tried to hide my watery eyes. Class began and I just rolled with the study hall.

"Aria?" I heard. I looked up and saw BE looking at me.

"I'm sorry. I know you and Jughead are dating, but-" She started but I put my hand up to stop her.

"It's fine BE. I get it. Really, I do." I say as I gave a weak smile. She gave me a look but nodded as she went back to doing homework. She'd see Dilton after class. To be honest, I think she knew I was jealous and upset she said that but didn't want to start a fight. She was my best friend after all. Anyway, once class was over I walked her to Dilton's lab. After I did that, I kissed Dilton's cheek, went to my locker, grabbed my uniform and rushed off to work. Once at work I started feeling better. I just served Archie and Jughead when I went to a table.

"Welcome to Pop Tate's Chock'lit Shoppe, what can I get ya?" I asked as I wasn't paying full attention.

"Hey Babe, glad I got your table." I heard the annoying voice of Vinnie Wells. I then gave him a glare.

"What, dare I ask, do you want?" I asked in a snippy attitude.

"Just my nachos." He tells me. I rolled my eyes.

"You gonna pay for them?" I asked a bit rudely. He always tried not to pay and Pops won't give him a tab. I don't blame him either. Suddenly, he showed me a $10 bill and slipped it in my front apron pocket.

"And a drink too babe. Keep the change." He said with that sick smile of his. I tensed when he did that. He didn't touch me though. I was glad, and surprised, about that.

"Fine. I'll get them." I tell him as I skate off. I got him a medium soda and the nachos and still had roughly $2 as a tip. I wasn't complaining about it. At least he paid. I gave him his drink and nachos and went to walk off, since I forgot my skates again, when Vinnie grabbed my arm.

"Hold on babe. I just wanna talk is all." He tells me. I didn't want to talk to him.

"I told you I'm not going on a date with you, I'm not going to be your girl, and I have even said don't touch me." I said as I yanked my arm away.

"Fine. But I think it was shallow of your buck toothed friend to say what she said about one of your guys." He tells me. I didn't look at him.

"I saw the way you looked. The water in your eyes. Personally, I'd ditch her as a friend all together. A real friend wouldn't do that." He continued. In a way, he was right.

"I'm still her best friend and she is mine. That won't change." I tell him sternly. He just chuckled a bit.

"Funny. You judge and hate me when I make remarks on who you should and shouldn't be around, and yet when she tries to do something similar, you let her walk all over you." He tells me as he munched on his nachos.

"No Vinnie, it's not the same thing. You're controlling, abusive, short tempered and you beat the living snot out of me. She commented on a dream she wanted. That's different." I tell him as I kept calm. He growled a bit but kept his cool surprisingly.

"Fine. Whatever you say babe." He tells me. I rolled my eyes and walked off quickly before he said anything else. When I got back, he left, nachos devoured, the to go cup missing, and a napkin with something written on it. I looked at it.

'If you change your mind, call me. I'd love to hear from you. ~Vinnie.'

I growled as I saw his number on it. I threw it away with the trash.

*Like I'd ever call him!* I thought as I continued with my work.

*After work.*

I had Archie get me, since I was worried Vinnie would try something again, and thanked him.

"If he's still bothering you, report it." He told me.

"I can't Archie. He's technically not doing anything wrong. Heck, he even _paid_ for his food." I tell him.

"He _did_!" He said, rather than asked, in shock.

"Yeah. He gave me advise that I won't take. He even gave me his number, which I tossed in the trash where it belongs." I tell him as Archie parked the car.

"Just be careful alright." He tells me.

"I can handle him Arch. If I can't then Allegro will." I tell him as I open the door.

'BAM!'

I was tackled to the ground as my face was slobbered on.

"Allegro! Haha! Hi boy. Down. Down. Allegro stop!" I say through small bits of laughter. He stopped and wagged his tail as he looked at me cutely. I loved this dog. I hugged him as I heard him give tiny whimper barks of happiness. I got up and showed him the bag.

"Ok. Sit boy." I say. He sits, knowing I had a treat for him. I usually give him leftover burgers, as long as there were no onions on then, and this time I even got him a couple bones from our rib special we had. I gave him the left over burgers, which he ate, and then I showed him a rib bone.

"Ok. Sit up." I say. He got on his hind legs, front paws over lapped, as he gave me the cutest look.

"Sing boy." I tell him. He did as told and started howling a song I taught him.

"Say 'I love you'." I tell him.

"Aria he can't-" Archie started saying but then grew shocked at what happened next. Allegro said 'I love you'. Sort off. It was a type of barking/howling but it sounded like he said I love you.

"One more time. I love you." I say to him. He said it again. I giggled and gave him the bone. He gently took it before running inside to show it off.

"How did you do that?" He asked me.

"I've been teaching him tricks for a while. He's a good dog Arch. He's not a bad dog at all. He needed time and love and that's what I gave him." I tell him as I went inside. I put the left over bones away in a small part of the fridge before stretching. I had dinner with my family, complimented my Aunt's hair cut, said I love you to them and went to bed with Allegro, who finished his bone happily, as we both fell asleep.

*Time Skip Aria's POV*

Archie was getting on my nerves. He seriously thinks he's the center of the universe, that everything should be done his way. He was getting annoying. He wanted Jughead to spent every lunch with him too. Come on! Yesterday, which was Friday, I had lunch with Jughead in a different part of the school to talk privately with him and Archie flipped! If that wasn't bad enough, Archie wanted Jughead or me to go to the movies with him. I had my date with Dilton and Jughead refused. He got even madder. We have our own lives Archie. Oh well, I convinced him to take BE so Dilton and I could have our date night. He wasn't happy but at least he wasn't alone. Now, it's Saturday evening, and I was at a separate table with Jughead, on our date night, while Archie was at another table with Betty on their date night. I could tell he was complaining. I had checked up on Veronica earlier but she claimed she was fine. I knew she wasn't. She was having nightmares and something in those nightmares was preventing her from dating Archie. I couldn't figure out what though. It bothered me.

"You ok?" I heard Jughead ask me.

"Yeah. I'm good." I say as I began eating the pile of burgers with him.

"Good. As long as you're happy, safe and alright, then so am I." He tells me as he starts eating the burgers. I smiled with light pink cheeks.

"You're so nice to me." I tell him. Honestly, he was. I don't think we've ever fought.

"Well you deserve it. You're such a kind person." He says with a sweet smile. One thing I love about Jughead is that he's honest. I'm not saying Dilton isn't, but he either doesn't say anything to me right away, because it's not important, or he doesn't know how to tell me half the time. Right, getting off topic. I peeked at Archie's table again and saw him perk up.

"Betty must've told him." I said happily.

"Tell him what?" He asked as he started eating.

"Betty moved her tutoring around so she could go to the school dance with him." I said as I started eating another burger.

"Good. Maybe he'll leave us alone." He says to me. We enjoyed the rest of our date together. He even took me home. He gave me a kiss goodbye and I watched him walk off. He was such a gentleman. I walked inside. Archie wasn't home and Aunt Mary and Uncle Fred were visiting my parents this weekend. I felt bad for them but they insisted on going. I decided to plug in my Nintendo 64 and start playing Super Mario. I was stuck on a level and I was determined to beat it.

*1 hour later*

I was close. So close.

*Almost… Almost! So close to the end!* I thought as I was just about to win.

"Aria!" I suddenly heard in my ear. I jumped and ended up dying. My eye twitched as I turned and looked at Archie.

"Sorry. You didn't hear me." He said sheepishly.

"Sorry? Sorry?! Sorry isn't good enough! I now have to do this level all over _again_ because **that** was my **_last life!_** " I scolded in anger as I tried not to yell.

"Gee. I'm sorry. But I wanted to tell you I had a good date tonight." He told me.

"So? I already knew that. Betty told me about moving the tutoring around to be with you." I told him.

"Oh….. Well….. I'm going to bed then. Can't let this handsome mug be ruined." He said as he started walking off.

"You sound like Reggie!" I yelled out to him. He was too.

"I do not!" He yelled back.

"You're right! You sound worse!" I yelled out to him.

"At least I don't wear make up to look better!" He yelled out to me.

"I least I know how to look good and not be a jerk!" I screamed out. He was too. He had been a narcissistic jerk for a few days now. It was annoying.

"At least _I_ can get a _date_!" He yelled out.

"I can too! Two of them! One flacked on you!" I yelled out.

"Yeah! At least I got a dream girl while you get nightmares!" He yelled out to me. I blinked in confusion.

*Um….. What?* I thought to myself. I shrugged and ignored it as I decided to try and beat the level again.

*11: 57 pm Aria's POV*

I was _finally_ about to beat this level. Once I did, the game would be completed.

'Ring. Ring.' I jumped and, wouldn't you know it, I died. I made a blank face as I heard the phone stop ringing in the middle of a ring.

*Archie must've picked it up. Whom ever it is, better have a good reason why they're calling this late* I thought to myself as I got up and went to check on Archie.

*Archie's POV*

I woke up to the phone ringing.

*Who could that be?* I thought as I picked up the phone.

"'Yawn' Hello?" I asked sleepily. I heard someone talking but I was so tired.

"Betty? What's up?" I asked, still in a sleepy tone. She then said something that jolted me awake. She was cancelling our date to the dance.

"What?! What do you _mean_ you can't go to the Friday night dance with me?!" I asked in shock. She was talking more but I was too frustrated now.

"Well, there must be _some_ reason." I said in a shocked and slightly harsh tone. She just said sorry and didn't want to talk about it.

"Alright. Night." I said as I hung up. I was grumpy now.

*How could Betty cancel on me? And why?* I thought just as I heard footsteps march up my stairs. Uh oh.

"Archibald Andrews!" She scolded as she was, now, at my door.

"Sorry Aria. Betty called me to cancel our date to the dance." I tell her. She suddenly looked at me in shock.

"She couldn't wait until morning?" She asked me.

"Guess not." I replied.

"Well, just get some sleep. I'll talk to her and Veronica in the morning." She tells me before leaving. I just sighed.

"Why are all these bad things happening to me?" I asked myself before yawning.

"Maybe this is all some bad dream." I said sleepily as I laid back down.

"And I'll wake up and everything will be 'Yawn' back to…. Normal. 'Snore'." I said sleepily as I fell asleep after my sentence.

*Aria's POV*

Something wasn't right. All I could do was go to bed for the night. So that's what I did.

*Next day Aria's POV*

I didn't sleep well. Why? Because Archie kept waking up screaming. I couldn't take it. Betty and Veronica barely spoke to me and I was tired. I asked Jughead to take Archie out today while I took a nap. I needed sleep.

*Aria's dream*

I woke up at the Chock'lit shoppe in my uniform. I saw a red haired girl and went over to her. I saw food on my tray so I presumed it was hers.

"Here you go miss." I said kindly to her.

"You're Aria Andrews right?" She asked me.

"Yes, that's right. Do I know you?" I asked her curiously.

"No. But I know you. And I don't like the fact that you're poking your nose into my affairs!" She said to me.

"Excuse me?" I asked as I tilted my head.

"Archie Andrews is my boyfriend and you're trying to get Betty and Veronica back with him! Now It's your turn!" She scolded.

"What?! You did all that?! Then I'm-" I was shocked when saying this and was cut off when everything went black.

"Dreaming. But not for long. I'm Marie Not and I want you to Butt out!" She suddenly told me. I crossed my arms.

"And what if I don't?" I asked her. Suddenly the black horses appeared.

"My Night Mares will deal with you!" She scolds me. I just smiled.

"Look, they don't scare me. I think you tried before, because I remember seeing them, and as cool as they are, you can't scare me." I tell her with a smug smile.

"I had sent them to watch you. I can scare you! I know your fears because of them!" She tells me. Suddenly I saw clear walls around me. I didn't like the look of this. She snapped her fingers and I was surrounded by fire. I screamed and tried to break free but couldn't. I could feel the heat and smell the smoke.

"Stay away from Archie and quit butting in and I'll stop." She tells me.

"No! I…. I'm afraid, yes, but he's my cousin! They're my friends! I won't stop! I won't! I won't!" I cried out as the flames licked my body.

"It's just a dream! It's an illusion!" I cried out before forcing myself awake.

*Awake Aria's POV*

I bolted up from the bed with a shriek. I looked myself over and saw nothing. I broke down crying. I was terrified of fire.

*I can't let her win though.* I thought to myself. I needed to try and stop her. I don't care if I loose sleep. I care about Archie, Betty and Veronica. I have to try and help them.

*But if I try to talk to them, She'll cause them nightmares. And poor Archie.* I thought as I felt useless. When Archie came home alone, I ran to him and hugged him tightly.

"I know about Maria Not. I'll help you as soon as I figure out how to. I don't care about my nightmares." I tell him. He shook his head.

"No Aria, that's a bad idea." He tells me.

"I don't care Archie. I'll help you. No matter what." I tell him bluntly. He sighed, knowing I wasn't going to back down, and hugged me.

*Monday Aria's POV*

I had to drive to school. Why? Archie almost hit Jughead with the car. He fell asleep at the wheel. Jughead was trying to comfort Archie while I drove. I tried not to panic or hit anything. Once at school, Jughead and I started to help Archie inside. I had an Idea.

"Why bring him to school?" Jughead asked me.

"Because, Dilton has his dream machine. Maybe that can help." I explained.

"Good Idea." He says. Archie stumbled and we grabbed him quickly before he fell and hurt himself. At this point, we started dragging him.

"It's alright buddy, hang in there. We'll get you fixed up." Jughead says to comfort him. Archie just let out moans and groans from his exhaustion. I looked up and saw a worried Betty run over to us.

"Hi Betty. Can't talk to you or she'll punish me again." He said as he nearly fell over. He needed sleep. Badly.

"He hasn't slept in over 60 hours, and Aria hasn't in 36 hours. They keep talking about some girl named Maria Not." Jughead tells Betty.

"I'm alright. It's Archie that needs help." I say as I hide my tired form. Don't get me wrong, 36 hours of no sleep is bad, but I got some sleep in between the 60 Archie didn't get.

"Maria Not? That's-" Betty started saying but I stopped her.

"The same girl in yours and Veronica's dreams telling you Archie is hers and to stay away." I say as I held back a yawn.

"Yes, that's right." She tells me.

"We're taking Archie to Dilton for help. Aria's plan." Jughead tells her.

"You and Veronica need to come too. It's part of the plan." I tell her as we walked Archie off. Betty said nothing but ran to get Veronica. Once we got to Dilton, I explained to him everything. Once I finished, Betty and Veronica showed up. I looked and saw BE sleeping with the machine on her head.

"Can you help?" I asked him. I saw Dilton go over to BE.

"This just confirms what my research with Big Ethel, and the information Aria gave me, has found. The dream realm exists in another dimension, and our dream cells go there when we sleep." He says scientifically. My heart fluttered a bit.

*He's so attractive when he talks like that.* I thought to myself.

"But what about this Maria Not person who keeps showing up in our dreams to make us leave Archie alone." Veronica asked as Archie sat down on the chair and yawned.

"Yeah. Who is she?" He asked. I could tell his vision was going.

"My guess is, she's not human. She's most likely a being, one of them anyhow, from that dimension that can bend the reality of that world to her will. It's her home in a way." I said as I laid Archie down.

"Exactly. My dream monitor detected multiple life forms in that dimension. Like the Dream Eater that attacked you." Dilton informed the group as I shuddered.

"Let's not bring that up again." I muttered.

"Sorry." Dilton said as he turned the monitor on. It showed BE running and screaming from the monster, Arnie, that keeps haunting her. It looked cool really. I'm not sure why she was scared.

*Then again, if he is like the Dream Eater and Maria Not, then I can understand.* I thought as I felt bad for her.

"This creature, Arnie, is one of them." Dilton said as he points him out. He cornered BE and she threw her shoe at his face as she yelled at him to leave her alone. When the shoe hit his face, I snickered and covered my mouth.

*Same old BE.* I thought as I composed myself. What? It was funny. Dilton turned the monitor off and looked at us.

"Sadly, I have not figured out how to prevent them from entering our dreams yet." He says as he does his thinking pose. I loved that pose so much.

"Maybe, if you hook us all together in the same dream, we can all gang up on Maria and scare her off." Betty said as She looked ready to fight.

"It's not a bad idea, but remember she'll have more power there than us. But our advantage, besides numbers, is that it's a dream. An illusion. We might be able to win against her." I explained.

"I'm ready either way." Betty told me.

"Me too. For Archie-kins." Veronica added in.

"And I will for my best bud." Jughead said as he puffed his chest out. He was seriously cute as well.

"Well, I've got enough spare dream helmets if you wanna try. Except one of you will have to stay behind." Dilton tells us. This was tough. I knew Betty and Veronica needed to be there, along with Archie, BE was still sleeping and needed too so Dilton could work on her dream. That left me and Jughead. I _really_ wanted to go, but I thought clearly on this.

"You guys go. I'll stay." I say softly.

"What?!" Everyone gasped out.

"Let's not argue. 1. I've had enough dream team action to last forever. 2. Maria will expect me over all of you. 3. If a helmet starts to malfunction, Dilton might need help. Especially if more than one goes out. Just fight her off. If we can make a temp one to get me in there, than good. But I'll stay." I explained as I got the helmets and hooked them up to the girls. I pulled another out and went to Jughead.

"And besides, I trust all of you to drive her away. Plus I can write down data towards the spare helmets and maybe even work on a barrier between the realms." I say as I hooked Jughead's up and then Archie's. Dilton got the monitor and stuff ready.

"Alright. We will." Jughead said before he kissed my cheek gently yet sweetly. All the teens laid down on the cots and relaxed. Archie was thanking everyone, and probably feeling guilty for taking advantage of everyone, while I helped prepare. I wasn't paying much attention though. Dilton was explaining everything as I checked on BE. Arnie was _still_ chasing her. I looked and saw Dilton was distracted. I went and typed in a small code and ended up giving her a gun that shot shoes at Arnie. She was shocked but figured it out quick and used it on him. Arnie wasn't too happy about that. I then heard snoring and looked over. Archie was knocked out. He needed the sleep though.

"Can you hear me? Are you in the dream realm?" Dilton asked through the remote. I walked over as I looked over their sleeping forms.

"I hope this works Dilton. These helmets are only test helmets compared to the original." I said softly to him.

"I'm sure they work." He said as he put a hand on my shoulder to comfort me.

"Yes, we're all in the same dream. And I don't feel tired anymore." I heard Archie through the remote. I then gently took the remote.

"That's no surprise. You're dream cells are what help the brain sleep. Be careful. Maria is no joke. Finding her is the easy part, but driving her away will be the harder part. Just give her a good scare for me." I say to them as I gave the remote back to Dilton. I went and turned the monitor on to view their dreams. Once I did though, I saw Maria in front of them, walking towards them with a wand in her hand.

Uh oh.

*Third POV*

"Forget it Maria! We're standing up to you." Archie said with a sneer. He was done with her. Done with all of this.

"Yeah! We're not going to let you ruin Archie's dreams anymore! We're not afraid of you." Jughead yelled as he, Betty and Veronica banned together and stood behind Archie as Archie marched right up to Maria. In the real world, Aria made fists as she excitedly watched.

"I believe in all of you." She says to herself mostly. She knew Maria was strong, but Archie and the gang were better. She then continued to make very quick work on another prototype helmet. Well, finishing it actually. She and Dilton had worked on it but never finished it because there were a few problems. She didn't care. They needed help.

"How are they doing?" Dilton asked her as she tightened a screw.

"So far so good." She replied as she started to fix the wires. Dilton watched as Archie suddenly got scared.

"Sure I can." Maria said with a smile She then aimed her wand at Archie.

"I'll just send you into your worst fears!" She cried out as she fired her wand. Archie dodged it, but because he did that, Betty, Veronica and Jughead got hit instead. Aria looked up in shock as she saw that.

"No!" She cried out. She stopped work on the helmet and went to the keyboard. Dilton ran to keep work on the helmet for her.

"There's nothing we can do." He tells her.

"Yes there is. I can try to slow the nightmares down or something." She tells him as she watched and typed at the same time. In the dream world, Archie looked back in shock and horror as his friends were now gone. Betty and Veronica were teleported into the school. Veronica was dressed in rags but Betty seemed normal. Veronica looked at the rags she was wearing then opened up her purse. She began searching in it.

"What?! No credit cards?! She turned me into a poor person!" She cried out in fear and rage as she tossed her purse. In the real world, Aria lightly giggled at how she acted

"Daddy help!" She heard Veronica cry out. Then Aria grew curious about Betty. In the dream world Veronica looked at Betty.

"Well Betty, It doesn't look like she did anything to you." She says in a grumpy tone as she looks grumpy with her hands on her hips. Betty looked over at her.

"Oh. My god. It's, like, so hard to think." She said as she rubs her head.

"She made me, totally like, what's that word?" She asked as she looks at a shocked Veronica.

"Oh yeah. Stupid!" She says in a blond bimbo voice as she smiled for thinking of the right word. Aria was laughing at this as Betty ranted on in a panic over her grade being ruined. Aria put the helmet on.

"I hope it works." She said right when she saw Jughead running.

"Run away! They're after me! Giant hungry hamburgers!" He yelled out. Soon, three giant hamburgers with sharp teeth started chasing them. Betty and Veronica screamed and ran.

"Jughead!" Aria yelled out.

"Dilton! Get me in there!" she yelped out as she laid on the bed.

"But the helmet." Dilton started to say but Aria interrupted him.

"Dilton! Now! Please!" She said to him. Dilton nodded and activated the helmet. Aria was now in the dream realm and found the three. She then made a rip in the dream and brought them to a different part of the school, safe from the nightmares.

"It's safe for now." Aria said as she looked around.

"Where are we?" Jughead asked.

"In my dream. Maria doesn't know I'm here yet, so let's hurry." Aria said as they began to look for Archie. Maria was aware though.

"Guess your cousin couldn't stay away either." She says as she waved her wand. Soon a fire broke out. Aria backed up in fear as she started shaking.

"We..I...I won't be afraid!" She screamed as she tried to run through. The man eating burgers popped out and soon, the fire and burgers surrounded them. Archie was afraid for his friends and his cousin.

"Dilton! This isn't working! Get us out of here!" He yelled out to him.

"I can't wake you guys up. She's taken control of your bodies!" Dilton said in pure shock. Maria ran up to Archie with a smile as she hugs his arm.

"You see, Archie dear, I've decided I'm not going to let them wake up unless you agree to stay here with me forever." She says happily to him like she's doing nothing wrong.

"That's rotten!" He scolded as she looked bashful. To her, it was a compliment.

"Look, you can either stay with me and be the perfect boyfriend I've always wanted, or your friends and cousin can stay trapped in their worst nightmares forever!" Maria announced to him as she felt proud of herself.

"The choice is yours." She tells him with a smug smile. Archie stood tall and tried to look brave, but failed. After a few seconds he hunched over with sadness.

"You win." He sadly said while Maria smiled in victory.

"Just let me say goodbye to them before they wake up." He nearly begged. Maria was still smiling.

"No problemo, boyfriend of mine." She says happily and snaps her fingers. Her wand appeared and glowed as she used it. Soon the gang was back in front of Archie, all normal with no nightmares. Everyone was relieved, but Aria was the most. She had been sweating and swallowing tears down. The group smiled as they looked themselves over.

"I'm fashionably rich again." Veronica said happily.

"And I'm my usual brainy self again." Betty said in a perky tone.

"And I'm back to my rightful place on the food chain as the devourer of hamburgers!" Jughead stated happily since he won't be burger food.

"And no more fire." Aria said as she started to calm down with a smile. Archie then came over to the group.

"I'm going to stay here with Maria, so she'll let you wake up." He says in a somewhat sad tone. He then looked down in sadness.

"I'm going to miss you. Sorry I took you all for granted." He continued as Maria tapped her foot impatiently and looked at her watch.

"Say your goodbye's and wrap this up Archie." Maria tells him. Aria ran over and hugged him.

"Please don't." She begged him.

"It's the only way." He tells her.

"Then… Then at least say goodbye to BE and her new friend too." She said in a sad tone. She winked at him as she hoped he got the idea she had. He smiled as he did.

"Did you hear that Dilton? Think you can bring Big Ethel and her new friend over? It's only fair I say goodbye to them too." He asks Dilton.

"Her friend?" Dilton said through the communicator as then thought about it.

"Ok. I'll send them to you now." He said in a worried tone as he connected her helmet with theirs and sent her and Arnie into Archie's dream. Big Ethel came running to the group, screaming as Arnie was chasing her. Aria let Archie go and kept Big Ethel behind her.

"Sorry. The shoe gun broke." She whispered to Aria.

"It's cool." She whispered back to her tall friend.

"Ha! Let's see you deal with this guy! He's an even _bigger_ nightmare than _you_!" Archie told her as he thought he was victorious.

"Maria?" The monster, Arnie, asked in shock as he had a sad look upon him. Maria turned around and saw him.

"Arnie?" She asked, equally as shocked.

"Uh…. You two know each other?" Archie asked in shock. Aria then smacked her forehead.

"Of course. Most of these beings might since they live in the same dimension." Aria said as she felt stupid at that point. Maria turned to look at us.

"Arnie's my old boyfriend." She said to all of us in a slightly annoyed tone. BE then looked at the group.

"Does anyone know what's going on here?" She asked. Aria whispers the short version in her ear.

"You can read the rest in the Weird Mysteries column." She added. BE nodded as she watched. Arnie then put his clawed hand on Maria's shoulder.

"Take me back baby. Doing the nightmare thing isn't the same without ya." He says as he lets her go. Maria still had her arms crossed.

"You're the best." He added.

"Oh please." She said as she brushed him off.

"There are a lot of people dreaming in Tahiti right now. Let's go scare 'em." He suggested sweetly. Aria awed silently. He might look like a monster, but even they need love too.

"Sheesh Maria, you want me to change into your perfect boyfriend, but it looks like Arnie's your perfect boyfriend here." Archie said as he goes over to Arnie. Aria followed and stood on Arnie's other side.

"Yeah Maria. Any girl would be lucky to find their soul mate. Don't let him go." She says to her. Arnie smiled at both of the kids happily for trying to help.

"I loves ya baby. I think you're the greatest. You're the one for me." He tells her sweetly as he spoke from his heart. Sort of. Did he have one? An odd one supposedly.

"Gee. I've never been in a Tahiti dream before." Maria said as she thought about it.

"Sounds like the perfect make up date if you ask me." Aria said as she went to Maria's side. She wasn't scared of her. She had no reason to be. She only wanted love but didn't realize she had it. Maria looked at Aria's slight smile, a bit shocked she wasn't afraid of her, but smiled in agreement. She turned and looked at Arnie.

"What the heck. Lets give it a shot!" She says happily as she makes her wand appear. She then turns into her true form, which looked like a female Arnie with lashes, a green ripped dress the reddish hair and no beak. She floated over to him and snuggled close to him with a smile as Arnie smiled and hugged her. The two chuckled as they shared a lovey dovey moment. Archie and Aria stood next to each other as they both wiped a tear that fell from their eye. This was a moment, not only both understood, but a rare moment both shared a likeness since both could act differently at times. Archie then did a little cough.

"Could my friends, cousin and I wake up now?" Archie asked kindly. Both of the creatures looked at both the orange haired teens with a smile.

"Yeah, sure. Go wake up." Maria said slightly rudely. Aria didn't blame her though. She wanted to have a romantic moment. Arnie then floated down to both teens.

"Hey kids, thanks for getting us back together. If either of you have a really nasty nightmare, just tell them to lay off. You're a friend of Arnie's." He whispered with his hand up.

"Uh thanks. I think you two deserve each other." Archie said to him.

"And Aria. Good job on locking Dream Eater up again." He added before going back to Maria. Aria's jaw nearly dropped when she heard that but ignored it. Guess Dream Eater is a bad guy to these beings as well. The two teens waved to the couple with a smile, as they waved back while smiling too, before they disappeared in a glow. The teens had to close their eyes to block the glow. Then they all woke up, feeling refreshed and smiles on their faces. The teens woke up as Aria explained to BE everything.

"Um Aria. Your helmet's sparking." BE said to her as she looked frightened. Aria quickly tossed it off just as it short circuited.

"And that's why it's a prototype with cheap fixes." Aria mumbled, relieved that it didn't happen when she was dreaming. Archie was hugged by Jughead before Betty and Veronica went over and kissed each cheek multiple times while hugging him. Aria went over to Dilton, who was taking notes of what happened.

"Dilton? Are… Are you mad at me?" She asked him.

"What? no. Why would you think that?" Dilton asked her in shock.

"Well, you've been distant again. And….. And it just seems like you're mad at me for something." Aria tells him softly. She had to know.

"No, I'm not mad at you. I'm sorry if it seems like I am. I…. I got news that my cousin from California will be visiting soon, and we never once got along." He tells her as he felt embarrassed. Aria soon started laughing.

"That's why you're upset? All this time! I thought you we're mad at me for not volunteering to test the machine or something like that." Aria said as she calmed down. Dilton was in shock at how she reacted, but soon started to chuckle with a smile.

"I'm sorry to have worried you. I should've said something." He tells her as he felt a little better. Aria hugged him sweetly.

"I forgive you Dilton." She says, knowing he would apologize soon. Now that all of that was settled, the group decided to go to Pops to celebrate. It was even better since Aria didn't have to work today. She had earned the day off for working very hard. Aria and Jughead started wolfing down burgers as Dilton took notes on it.

"It's fascinating how much the both of you can consume." He said to the both of them.

"Best burgers ever man." Aria said as she chowed down.

"Definitely." Jughead said as he wolfed down 2 more.

"I've never met anyone who could eat almost as much as Jughead." BE said as she watched them.

"Can't help it." Aria said nonchalantly as she finished eating. Jughead had 9 more burgers than her but she didn't care. Once they finished eating and paying, Archie's treat as an apology and going broker than broke at that point, Archie brought everyone home, including Dilton since he was done with his testings, and he and Aria went home to write in the article.

*Aria's POV*

"Boy. I was really taking Betty, Veronica and Jughead for granted. ~Archie. And me a bit. ~Aria. Yes, and you too. ~Archie. And Acting like you were the center of the universe. Worse than Veronica and Reggie usually do. ~Aria. Ok ok. I'm sorry for that too. Anyway, why they put up with me, I don't know. Well, Aria does because we're family that actually care for each other as friends. ~Archie. But when you did the same thing to Maria Not, it put you in hot water and us as well. ~Aria. Hey! I'm telling the story! ~Archie. Sorry. ~Aria. But Aria's right. And it took the same friends, and cousin, I took for granted to help me out of trouble. Now that's what I call 'Good Friends'. Well, I guess it's time for us to get a good night sleep. ~Archie. …..In a little town called Riverdale! ~Archie & Aria!"

We finished the article as Archie yawned again. I helped him over to the bed, even though he didn't need my help, with a smile.

"Glad you're doing better." I said as I set him down.

"I'm so-" He started saying before I stopped him.

"We're cool. We all make mistakes in life. Just learn from this one." I tell him.

"I did. Believe me." He said as he laid down and fell asleep quickly. I tossed a sheet over him and smiled at him.

"You better have." I muttered as I walked to my room. I got dressed in my gown and fell asleep almost instantaneously.


	49. Chapter 48

**HEY EVERYONE! SORRY FOR THE DELAY. My car got trashed then a month later my new one did too. All because I parked in front of my house twice. Now I have to move out, I'm working overtime at work yatta yatta. I hope you all enjoy this chapter/episode.**

Chapter 48: Brain Of Terror!

*Aria's POV*

Half way through April. Hard to believe right? Well, it was a lovely day outside. Perfect for doing outdoor activities. Except I wasn't outside. I was inside, on a Tuesday afternoon. I had helped Dilton this morning with his 'Thinking Cap' machine. That's what I call it anyhow. Now I was at work. I wasn't serving burgers though. Nope. Why? The A/C machine broke, which meant I had to go in the wall through a small ground vent in the back by the juke box. It felt worse than an oven in here. I had called Dilton and asked him to come help me, but instead of waiting I decided to give it a try. It was a bit slow today anyhow. Odd really. Still, I started screwing in a screw and looked in it.

*Ok. So it wasn't that. Maybe it's this?* I thought as I went to look through the wires.

"Hey Aria." I heard suddenly. I jumped and hit my head very hard on the machine. It was a loud thud too.

"Ouch!" I yelped out as I pulled out from the A/C. I saw Moose standing there.

"Gee, I'm sorry. Are you ok?" Moose asked me with concern.

"Hey Moose. Yeah. I think I'm ok." I said as I felt my head. I winced in pain.

"What are you doing?" He asked me.

"Fixing this machine. It's broken." I tell him.

"Aria! You ok?" Midge asked me as she came over.

"I'm ok. Thanks." I say as I smiled.

"I'll serve you two in a minute. I know I can get this fixed." I say with determination as I went back in. It was an odd machine I can almost crawl into in done right.

"Need help?" Moose asked me. I didn't notice he was holding the plug to the main temperature gauge above me.

"Not yet. I think I found the problem though." I say as I was touching wires and fixing the connection.

"Maybe this helps." Moose said.

"Wait Moose!" Midge yelled.

"Wha-Gyah!" I was starting to ask but then screeched as I got shocked. Well, slightly electrocuted is more like it. I pulled away and fell down. I heard the A/C working again.

"All fixed. Um. Aria?" Moose said before looking at me.

"Thanks Moose, but next time, wait until I'm not touching wires before plugging something in." I say as I stood up. I started fixing my staticy hair the best I could.

"Sorry about that." Midge apologized.

"It's cool. No harm done." I say as I stood up and dusted myself off.

"Guess I didn't need Dilton after all." I say as I brought them to a booth.

"Gee, I really didn't mean to do that." Moose said as he felt guilty.

"It's alright Moose. I'm not hurt, no one got hurt, the A/C's fixed, so we're good." I say cheerfully to him. Moose was a total sweetheart with a big heart. He was just…. Well… Slow.

"Date time?" I asked them.

"Yeah. Moose is failing some classes so Betty's going to tutor him." Midge explained. I nodded.

"So a salad with chicken and avocado for you and a double bacon cheese burger with very thin tomato slices and fries for Moose?" I asked them. That's their usual anyways.

"How'd ya know? Are you a Cyclops?" Moose asked me. I tried not to laugh.

"I think you mean psychic. And no, It's your usual that you two get almost every time." I say with a smile.

"Oh yeah. Psychic. Right." He said with a smile.

"Sounds perfect." Midge said to me.

"Oh Midge, that reminds me. I made a new vinaigrette you might like. Apple cherry Vinaigrette." I say to her.

"Oh yum. I'll have that on it." She said happily.

"Righty-O." I say as I skated off. I got the order ready and came out to see Reggie flirting with Midge. Right in front of Moose. I set the food down and grabbed Reggie's ear.

"Reginald Mantle! Sit down in another booth and leave Midge alone! She is happy with Moose and doesn't need _you!_ " I say to him as I pulled him to a booth and sat him down.

"Ow ow ow. Alright alright. Sheesh. Jealous much Doll Face?" He asked me as he rubbed his ear.

"No. But I know right from wrong." I say as I pulled the note pad and pen out. I noticed his football uniform and figured Archie and Jughead would be here shortly.

"What do you want, and I swear if you say something stupid that's supposed to be a flirt, I'll kick you out." I threaten. He was going to say something but closed his mouth when I told him that. He folded his arms and pouted.

"A burger with cheese and fries please." He tells me. I smiled in satisfaction and wrote it down.

"Coming right up." I say cheerfully and skated off to tell Pops. He has yet to let me cook burgers. Why? Because of his secret recipe he has. Maybe one day I'll know it. I tried recreating his burgers….. I failed each time. I don't know how he does it. I looked and saw Midge wave me over. I skated over to her.

"Everything ok?" I asked her.

"This vinaigrette is **amazing!** " Midge told me. I smiled a very bright smile.

"Glad you like it. You're the 1st to try it." I say cheerfully.

"Wait…. You had me test something out that no one tried?" She asked me in shock.

"Sorry, but would you have tried it if I had told you?" I asked her. She thought about it.

"Maybe. Oh well, I like it never the less." She tells me. I smiled and made a note of it.

"Great! I'll tell Pops so we can keep it for the summer." I say happily and skated off. I let Pops know about the vinaigrette and he agreed to keep it on. I continued working and stopped when I saw Dilton. I skated over and hugged him from behind.

"I thought you were coming by earlier? I fixed the A/C already." I say and kissed his cheek.

"I know and I'm sorry. My work kept me." He said and showed me a box. It was small and black velvet. I tilted my head.

"What's this?" I asked curiously.

"A very late apology gift." He tells me. Now I was confused and I guess he realized that.

"You thought I was mad at you and I wanted to get you something to say how sorry I was. Dinner and a movie wasn't enough in my eyes." He suddenly tells me. I grabbed the box and looked at him.

"Aw~, Dilton. You didn't have to get me anything. I knew you were sorry." I tell him. He turned to me and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as he blushed.

"I know, but still." He says as he got shy. He was so cute when he got like that. I smiled and opened the box up. I gasped at what was in front of me. They were diamond earrings of a music note, a treble clef actually, and they were gorgeous.

"Dilton. They're beautiful." I say softly to him.

"I got them instead of some parts I needed. You're worth more than that." He suddenly tells me. I looked up at him in shock, because his parts were usually expensive, and put two and two together.

"Dilton? Please tell me these are fake diamonds." I say softly to him. He shook his head no.

"Real diamonds and sterling silver." He tells me. I put the earrings in his hand.

"I can't take this. That's too much." I tell him. He put the box back in my hands and held them.

"Like I said earlier, you're worth it. Besides, they'd look better on you than me." He gently joked. I giggled at his joke before I hugged him.

"You're so sweet. Thank you so much." I say to him.

"Hey Aria, remember what we talked about?" Pops suddenly called out.

"Oh, right. How about you take a seat. I'll be back shortly." I tell him then skated to Pops. I'm not supposed to hug people on shift. I went up to him and showed Pops the earrings.

"Sorry Pops, but Dilton got me these lovely diamond earrings." I say to him. He looked at them and smiled.

"Well, I can see why you hugged him now. After Moose and Midge leave, you can leave for the day." He tells me.

"You sure?" I asked him.

"Well why not? It's surprisingly slow today." He tells me. I smiled a big wide smile.

"Thanks Pops." I say happily. I decided to wear my earrings and cleaned the tables. I checked on Midge and Moose.

"Ice cream?" I asked them.

"No thanks. So what did Dilton give you?" Midge asked me. I showed them the earrings.

"Real diamonds! He's so~ sweet." I say with a happy smile.

"Aww.~ That's so sweet." She tells me.

"He's so nice to you." Moose tells me.

"He tries his best. Jughead does too." I say to them.

"Hey Doll Face! Where's my refill?" I suddenly heard Reggie yell. My eye twitched before taking a deep breath.

"I shouldn't even be serving him. I'm still a bit mad at him." I say as I write up their bill.

"Why? What did he do?" Moose asked me.

"Probably something stupid." Midge said. I nodded.

"The article where we wrote about the pirate ghouls, well before all that happened, he upset me because… Because I have a nasty scar on my side, from when I was burned, and he saw it. He made a comment and upset me." I tell them.

"That's mean." Moose said.

"Yeah. But what made me even more mad was he walked in on my changing and saw my breasts." I say softly.

"He did what?!" Midge yelled out in shock. I jumped and tried to balance again. Once I did, I sighed in relief.

"Sorry." Midge said softly to me.

"It's ok. It was an accident. And him walking in on me was an accident too. But I'm still a bit mad." I said as I pulled the bill off for them.

"Want me to teach him to knock?" Moose asked. I smiled at his offer.

"No thanks Moose. I think he learned his lesson." I say sweetly to him.

"Today Doll Face!" Reggie ordered.

"Reggie! She's tending to other customers! She'll get to you in a minute!" Dilton suddenly scold. I smiled a bigger smile at Dilton defending me.

"So sweet he is." I say softly.

"Good luck with the studying Moose. I know you'll do well." I tell him before skating to Reggie. I got his refill and got Dilton a drink too. I skated over to where Moose and Midge sat and collected the money before cleaning up. I saw Pops carrying out an Ice cream as I clocked out. I skated to Dilton.

"I'll change so we ca-" I started saying but stopped when I saw the sundae in front of him.

"It's alright. You look nice as is. Let's enjoy our time together." He says as he gestured for me to sit with him. My heart fluttered as I sat with him.

"You sneak. I love it." I say as I kissed his cheek. He blushed a soft pink and offered me a spoon. I took it and we enjoyed the ice cream together. Archie and Jughead came in just as Reggie finished eating. They looked upset and I knew why.

"I wish we could help Moose out." I say softly to Dilton. I felt bad and tutoring him isn't easy.

"Dilton? Could we-" I started asking but he cut me off.

"No! It's bad enough he helped test out the Brain Gain machine, but it's not stable enough to make him smart for a day. Not yet." He tells me.

"I understand. I…. I just feel bad." I say to him.

"I do too, but a couple minutes versus a whole day is different. It could make him unstable or worse." He explains. I sighed.

"Alright. But if you change your mind or something bad happens, please tell me." I tell him.

"I will." He says as we finished the ice cream. Pops came over with a smile.

"On the house today since you didn't have a lunch break yet." Pops suddenly said.

"Thanks Pops." I say with a cheerful grin. We got up and started walking. I decided not to change.

"So Dilton? Need help wi-" I started asking but got interrupted. Again.

"Hey Aria! Wait up!" Dilton and I looked behind us to see Jughead running to us.

"Hey Jughead." I greeted.

"Greeting Jughead." Dilton greeted as well.

"Hey Dilton. Aria! I need help. I just found out about the history test tomorrow. Could you help me study?" He practically begged me. I sighed.

"Jughead. I reminded you of this test several times." I told him.

"I know, and I'm sorry. Please help me? I promise I'll make it up to you!" He begged. I looked over at Dilton.

"It's alright. I can handle the machine." Dilton tells me. I hugged him.

"Alright." I say and let him go. I looked at Jughead.

"Come on burger miser, let's study." I say to him. He hugged me happily.

"Thank you!" He says happily and starts guiding me to his house.

"Jughead? We're going to your house?" I asked him.

"Yeah. Why?" He asked me.

"No reason. We rarely go there is all." I say matter of factually to him. It was true. In reality, I've only been over there 12 times since I've been here in Riverdale. We usually hang out at Archie's or sometimes Betty's or outside like school, Pop Tate's, the park, arcade, movies ext.

"Well, I thought we'd change it up a bit." He tells me as he gives that small tone and look, you know the one, where it seems like he's hiding something.

"You left your books at home didn't you?" I ask him.

"What? Pft. No." He tells me. I raised my eyebrow at him. He sighed.

"Yeah. I did... Again." He admits with a sad tone.

"Mhm." Was all I could say to that. I didn't mind him not wanting to admit about the books, but still. We arrived at his place and I smiled as I saw Mrs. Jones.

"Hi Mrs. Jones. How do you feel?" I ask her kindly. She was due in two months and Jughead was excited to be a big brother.

"Hello Aria. Just fine actually. Jughead, I'm going to my doctor's appointment. You're father will be home late and, please, clean your room." She said and nearly begged about the last part.

"But it's clean mom." He tells her. She sighed and shook her head.

"You two be good. I left some goodies in the kitchen for you." She says and kisses the top of his head. Jughead lightly groaned as I giggled.

*He's lucky to have a mom who loves him that much.* I thought to myself before I suddenly got pulled into a hug. Mrs. Jones hugged me then let me go before patting my head.

"You're such a nice girl Aria. You're always welcome here." She tells me.

"Thank you Mrs. Jones. You and Jughead have been very kind." I tell her sweetly.

"Oh my. What lovely earrings." She said as she noted my earrings.

"Thank you. Dilton got them for me as an apology." I say as my cheeks went pink.

"That was very nice of him." She complimented. We failed to notice the look Jughead gave us. She waved us goodbye before leaving to go to her appointment. I smiled at Jughead.

"Why don't you set up and I'll bring in the snacks." I say kindly to him. He usually didn't mind but he shook his head no and started taking me to the couch.

"No way. You're my guest, so I'll get the snacks. Besides, you're so smart, you know what we need to study." He tells me. I look at him with a dumbfound look.

"Jughead? Are you feeling alright?" I asked him.

"Yeah. Why do ya ask?" He asked me.

"No reason. You just usually let me get the snacks and stuff. That's all." I say as I sat down and pulled out my book.

"No, I'm fine. I just want to be a good host since you're helping me out, that's all." He tells me with a smile. I smiled as I believed him.

"Alright. If you say so." I say and opened the page to where we needed to start studying. He came back with some snacks and drinks and we started studying.

"Ok, somethings wrong. What is it?" I ask as I finally had enough of the him being distracted.

"Nothing." He tells me.

"What a load of manure!" I say to him. He looked like he wanted to argue, but sighed in defeat.

"The earrings." He suddenly says in a low voice.

"What?" I ask softly in shock.

"Dilton got you real diamond earrings, and I can't afford anything like that for you." He tells me softly as he looked down. So that was it. Jealousy.

"Jughead!~ I don't need gifts for me to know you care, and Dilton knows this too with him. It was an apology gift, not an engagement ring. They're nice, yes, but spending time with the both of you and seeing you two happy is what I love the most." I say to him. He smiled weakly at me.

"I know, but it makes me feel bad." He tells me. I just chuckled.

"He gave me diamonds, you gave me a friend for life. Allegro." I comment to him. He chuckled as he felt better.

"You're right. I'll stop feeling sorry for myself and stop being petty too." He tells me.

"Ok, Casanova, lets study already. I want you to pass that test." I say with a smile. We studied until it got very late, so I skated home. I know I shouldn't, but I needed the alone time. As I was skating, a small wave of dread came over me. I felt, almost as if, something bad was going to happen. I decided to hurry, in case it had something to do with Vinnie, as the feeling soon left my body. I made it home and sighed happily as I entered the house.

'BAM!'

On the floor again as Allegro bounced all over the place, licking my face, and making cute whimpering sounds like he missed me. I laughed as I snuggled up to him.

"My good boy." I say with a smile. He really was a good dog.

*I wonder what that bad feeling was though.* I thought before shrugging. I had no idea it had to do with the 'Thinking Cap'. I ate dinner, giving Allegro my brussels sprouts, yuck by the way, and hurried upstairs. I got dressed and laid on my bed.

*Morning Aria's POV*

I was at my desk, reviewing in my mind what I studied with Jughead, as the clock ticked. It was a few seconds after the bell rang and our history test would start shortly. I saw no signs of Moose and wondered if he wasn't going to show up. I had the test in front of me when the door opened. It was Moose. He apologized for being late and sat down. He seemed… Different somehow. He sat next to Jughead and diagonally away from me as he looked at his test paper.

*Since when does Moose wear glasses?* I thought suddenly. He never once wore them until today.

*Maybe he thinks it'll make him smart enough to pass his test.* I thought as I shrugged.

"Start." I heard Miss Grundy say as she started a timer. I breathed a low breath out as I flipped the test over and looked at it. I heard Reggie groan and pencils at work.

*World War 1 began in which year? Easy. 1914.* I thought as I circled the answer.

*Adolf Hitler was born in which country? Wow. That's tough. I hope no one said Germany because he was born in Austria.* I thought as I circled the correct answer.

*John F Kennedy was assassinated in _? Wait… That's not what we studied. Oh! I get it! She's testing us on old and new to see if we pay attention or not. Clever Miss Grundy. Very clever. Dallas Texas is the answer.* I thought. As I circled the answer though.

"Done." I suddenly heard Moose say. I looked up in shock.

*Done? Already? But how? Oh goodness, please tell me he didn't just answer randomly because he didn't know.* I thought as Miss Grundy looked it over. Moose was going to leave but Miss Grundy stopped him.

"Hold on a minute Moose." She called out.

"Yes Miss Grundy?" He asked politely. What she said next shocked me to no end.

"Congratulations Moose, you got every question correct." She said.

*What?! How?!* I thought in pure shock as my eyes widened and my jaw dropped.

"I smell a weird mystery." I said very softly to myself. I then inwardly groaned.

*Oh no! I am beginning to turn into Archie!* I gasped the thought in my head. I'd figure it out later. I have a test to finish right now. I looked down and continued my work.

*Question 25. The disease that ravaged and killed a third of Europe's population in the 14th century is known as? Aw that's easy peasy. The Bubonic plague.* I thought as I circled the answer. I had one more left. This was a written answer.

*Name at least 7 important events that occurred during the Revolutionary war.* It read suddenly. Oh cheese biscuits.

*Ok Aria. You know this. I know the Boston Massacre and the Boston tea party easily. After was… Battles of Lexington and Concord then the Battle of Bunker Hill. Um… Capture of… Something came next….. Fort Ticonderoga! That's it! Then Battles of Saratoga then the Treaty of Paris! Okay! Done! Only took...* I looked at the clock and sighed.

*25 minutes. Not bad really.* I thought as I got up. I handed my test to Miss Grundy and waited.

*I'm sure I missed a question or two. Wouldn't surprise me.* I thought to myself.

"Congratulations Aria. A perfect score! I expected nothing less from you though." She tells me as she seemed to be beaming with pride. I smiled a sheepish grin as she excused me.

*Time skip at Chock'lit Shoppe Aria's POV*

I was serving food, as usual, and was having a good day. I told Pops about my perfect score.

"No surprise there. You and Betty are the smartest girls I know." He had complimented. Don't get me wrong, Betty and I are the two smartest girls in the whole school, but I don't _always_ get perfect scores like that. Anyhow, Archie, Reggie and Jughead were sitting together, waiting for food and discussing how Moose aced his test, when I rolled up and gave them their drinks.

"Archie, I don't want to say it, but I definitely smell a weird mystery about Moose and him acing his test." I say to him and the others.

"I agree." Archie says back.

"Why does everything have to be a weird mystery with you two? The important thing is, Moose is still on the team." Reggie tells us.

"Yeah, I guess." Archie says quietly, and possibly a bit sad and/or worried.

"But, you don't think he-" Archie started but I stopped him.

"Moose wouldn't cheat Archie. I was behind him. He had nothing on him nor around him to help him cheat." I say with a small scold. Just then, Betty showed up and I was gone. I didn't want to hear her rant. I needed to work anyhow. I came back and set the food down just to hear Moose talk about the speed of light and how fast it travels. I dropped the empty tray in pure shock.

*How in Einstein did he know that?* I thought in pure shock.

"You okay Aria?" I heard a voice. I jolted out of it and looked at the voice. It was Archie.

"Yeah, just shocked he knew that." I tell him.

"So am I." Archie replies. Weird mystery it was. We just didn't know how weird it would get.

*One week later Aria's POV*

Weird had now hit past the high meter. Moose was _definitely_ not himself. He passed the math test, that was extremely hard because Reggie and Archie barely passed, was reading books of high knowledge from the library, reading during practice and, with the few tests we have had lately, he has passed them all. I was with Archie, Jughead and Betty in the computer room, to help fix the printer again, and got it working. I looked at the papers printed and read. I had tuned out Archie and went deep into thought.

*It's not the glasses like I thought. Doctor Beaumont didn't sell glasses recently, and they had broke during practice and then fixed later, so they weren't cursed nor enchanted. What is going on?* I thought as something occurred to me.

Dilton.

"Aria! Earth to Aria!" I heard Archie say. I jolted out of my thoughts and looked at him.

"Hm? Yeah?" I asked.

"I was asking if you'd help me investigate this mystery." He says to me.

"Already ahead of you cuz. I thought the glasses were doing it, but it was a dead end just like your theory of alien crab people following you." I said to him.

"You can't prove otherwise and neither can anyone else." He says as he folds his arms and pouts. I laughed.

"Sure sure. Ok. I'll help. You follow him for the day, I have a different theory I'd like to look into." I say to him before leaving him alone. I have a feeling this has something to do with Dilton. I tried looking for him but saw no signs of him.

*Not in the lab, maybe home?* I thought as I started walking. After a long trip, realizing half way I had my skates in my bag and skated the rest of the way there, I knocked on Dilton's door. His father answered.

"Yes? How may I help you?" He says as he gives me a somewhat hard look.

*Guess he still doesn't like me.* I thought to myself.

"Hello Mr. Doiley, is Dilton here?" I asked sweetly.

"Yes, but he can't talk now. He's very busy today." He tells me sternly. I flinched at his sternness but tried to not look hurt.

"Ok. I'm sorry to disturb you then. I just had something important to ask him, but I suppose I could, perhaps, wait until tomorrow." I say in a kind tone of voice.

"That's fine then. Have a nice day." He says and shuts the door. I sighed and looked down. I started skating home as the sun started setting. It was Wednesday and I had the day off.

'Think of it as a reward for doing well on your exams. It's a paid day off.'

He had told me and knew I had been working very hard. I was getting ready to pass the movie theater, but stopped when I saw Midge looking at her watch with sadness.

*Moose is late? He's never this late and never misses date night with Midge.* I thought worriedly. I went to her.

"Midge! Hey, you ok?" I asked her as I stopped next to her.

"Oh, hi Aria. I'm ok. I'm just worried about Moosey. He's never forgotten our date." She says sadly to me. I felt bad.

"Well, how about we see a movie then? I might not be Moose, but a friend to comfort you is better than loneliness." I say wisely.

"Well… Sure. Why not? I already have the tickets anyways. Best not to let them go to waste." She says as she smiles. I took my skates off and followed her.

"I'm sure Moose didn't mean to forget. To be honest, I think, no I know, it's a weird mystery and Archie and I will solve it." I comfort her.

*Next day Aria's POV*

Archie had told me he saw Moose in Dilton's lab and my wheels were turning into overdrive.

"If he was in Dilton's lab, then he's using-" I started saying, but then saw Midge go to Moose. I saw the look on her face as he left her alone and frowned. I rushed over without finishing talking to Archie and checked on Midge. I saw her crying and immediately comforted her.

"What did he say?" I asked as I hugged her. Right now, the mystery is on hold. Friendship came 1st.

"Moosey broke up with me because I'm not smart enough." She said and cried on my shoulder. I hugged her and rubbed her back gently.

"It's ok Midge. I'm here, no worries. We'll solve this mystery and get the old Moose back." I comfort her.

"Do you know what's wrong with him?" She asked me.

"I think I do." I say as I walked her inside.

*Later on Aria's POV*

Science class with Professor Flutesnoot. I was next to Dilton. While everyone was at Betty's presentation I looked at him.

"I think Moose is using your thinking cap and it's not going well." I flat out told him.

"What? But you know it only helps with memory." He tells me.

"Yes, I know, but what's stopping him? Dilton, did he threaten you? I mean, I know it's not like Moose, but-" I started saying but we were interrupted.

"What do you two have today?" Professor Flutesnoot asked us. I let Dilton explain half of it while I explained the rest in simplicity. We were congratulated but soon interrupted by Moose's invention. I pulled Dilton aside.

"What did you do?! What did he do?! Dilton tell me!" I whisper to him. I was getting annoyed now. Archie showed up and I know he wants answers too. Dilton got nervous.

"I don't kno-" He started but I interrupted him.

"Dilton! Don't lie to me! Me! Your girlfriend!" I scold him.

"Dilton, _did_ Moose use it?" Archie asked.

"Alright alright! He talked me into it! But I only gave him a little dose and made him promise not to use it again." He says in a panic as he hid behind the helmet. Archie face palmed as I sighed.

"Archie told me he saw Moose in here last night. Dilton, he broke his promise. He broke it and it's costing him and Midge as well. We need to reverse this before it's too late Dilton." I tell him sternly.

"Destroy it before he gets his paws on it again." Archie told him as he put the cap on Dilton and spun the propeller.

"Destroy it? But it's taken me years to-" Dilton tried to defend but was interrupted.

"No buts Dilton. I'm gonna keep an eye on Moose." Archie says then leaves. I look at Dilton and knew what he was thinking.

"Hide it. Hide it in your locker. We'll lie to Archie and get it tonight. I have a feeling we can reverse it and Trick Moose into using it." I say softly to him. Dilton looked at me in shock before smiling.

"I like that rebel mind of yours." Dilton tells me.

"We'll meet here after school, I don't have to work, so we can hurry back." I say to him.

"Right. And… I'm sorry for lying." He tells me.

"I understand why, but I wish you wouldn't with me." I tell him. He nods his head. Once class, and school was over, Dilton hid the helmet and we were now looking over his notes and plans to try and reverse it.

"I'll be back Dilton." I say and left to use the bathroom. What? Girls have to go too ya know. After I finished, I bumped into Moose.

"Oof." I said as I fell down.

*What hit me?* I thought as I looked up. I saw Moose.

"Sorry Moose. I didn't see you." I say kindly as I started getting up.

"Not a problem. I was looking for you anyhow." He says to me.

"Really?" I asked.

*What is he up to?* I thought as I had no idea about his psychic powers.

"Wanna go on a date?" He asked me suddenly.

*Is he joking?!* I thought in shock.

"I'm not joking at all by the way." He says suddenly to me.

*Is he… No… No! He couldn't be reading my mind.* I thought.

"Why me? I'm with Dilton and Jughead. Why not Midge? She loves you Moose." I say to him.

"Midge isn't smart enough for me. You and Betty Cooper are. You're both nice and kind as well. I want to date both of you, but mostly you because you're strong as well." He tells me.

*Ok. This isn't a joke. What do I do? Why me?* I thought and whined a little in my head.

"Listen, Moose, you're nice and all, but I see you as a friend. Maybe even a brother. Midge is the one that cares about you." I say calmly and explained nicely.

*You broke her heart! I had to be the shoulder she cried on! You're acting like a jerk because you think you're smart!* I suddenly thought. I couldn't help it. I saw Moose suddenly get mad.

*Why do I have a bad feeling?* I thought in slight fear.

"You shouldn't have said that. It's not nice calling someone a jerk." He tells me. My heart sank and my eyes widened. He read my mind. I went to bolt but his psychic powers stopped me. Next thing I knew, I hit the lockers really hard and was thrown. I hit the fountain, heard a crack, then blacked out.

*Moose's POV*

I was furious! I had just destroyed Dilton's lab before searching for him. I had used my powers to find out where he put that helmet. It was in his locker. I didn't care who I hurt, I wanted to keep being smart and powerful. No one would stop me. I went into the boy's locker room and used my new powers to open the locker. I saw the helmet and smiled as I pulled it out. I walked back to Dilton's lab and put it on. I turned it on and lights flashed along with some pain. There was always pain. I didn't care though. Now _I_ am the smartest in the world. I saw Archie bust down the door, but he was too late.

"Woah. That's the ticket." I said happily.

"Oh no." Dilton mumbled and covered his face. I was now holding the helmet and looked at Dilton.

"I gotta hand it to you Dilton, This is the greatest invention since the coo-coo clock." I say as I glared at Archie next then Midge.

*Why is she here? It doesn't matter. I don't need her.* I thought as Aria's words and thoughts tried to haunt me.

"Come on Moose, give me the helmet. I'm not going to do anything." Dilton told me. He sounded convincing, but I read his thoughts.

"Yes you will. I can read your thoughts. You want to rewire it to take away my brain power." I scold him.

"Darn." Dilton muttered as he snapped his fingers.

"Hey, isn't that Noah Chompsky?" Dilton suddenly asked. I turned my head to look but saw no one.

*I was tricked?!* I thought in anger. I heard footsteps. I looked and saw Archie and Dilton running at me.

"No!~" I screamed and used my psychic powers to send them flying into the ground. Midge gasped in shock and fear as I looked at Archie and Dilton. Dilton had bruises and so did Archie but that was all. Archie suddenly stood up.

"Come on Moose, you don't need that." He tells me softly.

"Yes I do! Without it, I don't know anything, but with it I'm a genius." I say matter of factly to them.

"No… You're not." We all heard. I looked and saw Aria, holding her left arm close to her as she looked up at me with red delirious eyes and a bloody nose. She was hurt badly because of me.

*Aria's POV*

I was now looking at an angry, big brained Moose. My arm felt broken and I wasn't feeling well, not to mention my nose was bleeding a bit. I was too nauseous and in pain to be mad.

"You're not a genius Moose." I say in a low tone.

"Of course I am! For instance, did yo-" He started but I stopped him.

"Moose! Think about what you're going to tell me and tell me if you understand it, if you know what it means." I say calmly to him. My anger had to be low and my intelligence and compassion high.

"Well… No. I don't know what it means." He tells me suddenly.

"Moose. That machine, it doesn't make you smarter. It gives you a photographic memory. In a way, it just helps you remember, not learn." I explain to him.

"But..." He was starting to say but lost the words.

"Face it Moose! You're just… A novelty act! Like one of those guys who reads backwards!" Archie said as he approached Moose.

"No!" Moose yelled ans used his powers again. Archie went flying and landed on his head as he hit the floor.

"Midge. Talk to him. The real Moose is in there, but is lost. Talk to him, please." I say as I weakly went to Archie.

"What are you doing Moosey?" She asked Moose as she was worried. Moose looked down in shame before looking up.

"I don't know! I'm so confused!" He says in a panic. This wasn't good. Those volts were too much and were going to make his head explode if not careful.

"Think Moose, think. Think about what's important to you. You're friends, you're family, football." She says as she gets closer to him. Moose was rubbing his head in pain. Archie got up and was ok so I decided to sneak over to try and get the helmet while he was distracted.

"I can't think! I don't know how!" He says as he looked at Midge with fright. Suddenly, the ground shook, glass beakers were breaking, the ceiling was crumbling. Moose was loosing control.

"You know more than you think Moose and I know something too! I know I want my Moosey back!" She tells him as she covers her head. I tried not to puke as I held onto a desk. Midge was reaching for Moose when he suddenly backed up and screamed in pain. His psychic waves were happening again, almost like tremors, and everything shook more. I saw what was happening and grabbed Midge just as we were sent flying. We hit the floor with a thud. I, and maybe Midge, heard a crack and I cried out in pain. I opened my watery eyes and saw Midge was ok. I took most of the blow for her, but I saw Archie and Dilton were hit with pieces of ceiling and glass, though the desks protected them from most of the damage, as everything suddenly stopped.

"Midge!~" Moose yelled as I heard him run over. Moose helped Midge off me and held her close.

"Funny, Moose wasn't concerned about _us_ when he was trashing the place." Dilton said somewhat quietly. I sat up and held my arm.

"The power of love." I say with a smile. I heard footsteps and then Archie and Dilton were next to me.

"You ok?" Archie asked me.

"Yeah, had a run in with Moose earlier but I'll live." I say softly. Dilton took out a Handkerchief and carefully cleaned the blood off me.

"You seem to be holding your arm. Is it broken?" He asked as he went to look.

"If it wasn't before, it is now." I say softly before wincing. He touched my arm.

"The machine!" Archie suddenly gasped and went to get it.

"Go help him Dilton. I'm ok." I lie to him.

"No. You need me right now." He tells me sternly.

"I love that you rode up in a white horse to help me, but be a hero and help Moose before the effects worsen and kill him." I say as I cradle my arm again. Man, did it hurt. Dilton wanted to fight me but I stopped him.

"Dilton, fix your mess now." I say to him. He nods and runs off.

"Midge, speak to me!" He said as fear and worry filled his voice. I looked and saw him smile before Midge reached up and hugged him.

"Oh Moosey! I knew you were in there somewhere." She says happily as relief sounded in her voice. I only sat and watch as Dilton tried to fix the helmet.

"Dilton! Try switching the wires!" I say to him as I tried to hide my pain.

"Oh! Aria, are you alright?!" Midge asked me.

"I'll live. Are you hurt?" I asked her. She shook her head no.

"You took most of the damage, but I heard a crack." She tells me.

"Yeah.~ That was my arm….Breaking." I told her. She gasped but I shook my head.

"When I hit the fountain, I either broke it or slightly fractured it. Now I _know_ it's busted." I say to her. I looked and saw Moose working on the machine then used it on himself to go back to normal. Right when Moose turned it on, everything shook and beams of light shot out and broke a window.

"Everyone! Behind the desk!" Archie yelled as he came over to help Midge bring me there. We all took cover as this was happening. Then it stopped. We looked up and saw Moose take the helmet off. I tried not to laugh at what I saw. His hair was frizzed out, almost like Archie's was the night we we're investigating the sewers and he electrocuted himself. Moose was Dizzy and sat down.

"Moose! You ok!" Midge asked as everyone went to check on him.

"Woah! That's the ticket." He said and looked at everyone with a smile.

"Moosey!" Midge cried out happily. I was feeling tired so I closed my eyes a bit to try and keep my mind off the pain.

"You we're right Aria. We just… Needed to switch the wires." Dilton said sheepishly as he sat next to me.

"Told you." I say softly.

"How did you know?" He asked me.

"To be honest, I didn't really. I just thought some things are easier then they appear." I say as I smiled, still keeping my eyes shut. We heard a crunch and I knew Moose destroyed the helmet.

"Hey guys! I don't wanna ruin the moment, but my arm is broken, so can we go get it fixed please?" I ask as I felt sick from the pain. I then felt myself get picked up and gasped in shock. It was Moose. He picked me up and then started carrying me to Archie's car.

"Gee, I'm sorry about earlier Aria." He tells me as he was himself again.

"It's ok Moose. I'm not mad. I know you didn't mean it. You weren't yourself. I'm just glad you're back to normal and no one else was severely hurt." I say with a kind smile.

"You're a good friend Aria." He says sweetly. He really was a gentle giant. He set me in the car and we all took off to the hospital. Archie and Dilton had a few bandages put on, while I had a couple bandages and a cast. My arm was in a sling too to help it rest better. Aunt Mary and Uncle Fred weren't going to be happy about this. I was right. They came to the hospital, since the doctor called them and the Doiley's, and started scolding us while hugging us. Suddenly Mr. Doiley came over.

"This is your fault. This is your niece's fault that my son got hurt! I know it is. She's nothing but trouble!" He says as he accused me.

"You're wrong! My niece wouldn't have caused trouble!" My uncle said in an upset tone as he defended me.

"He always gets hurt or into trouble when she's around!" Mr. Doiley said sternly.

"Dad! Stop! She did nothing!" He defended.

"It was my fault! I stole Dilton's invention that Aria helped with and I gained psychic powers and lost control." Moose said as he tried to defend us.

"Her arm broke because she cushioned my fall!" Midge added.

"The invention was mine dad! Aria might've helped, but I made it and I didn't tell her I let Moose sample it a second time. If she would've known, then she could've stopped Moose sooner!" Dilton tells his father.

"Why do you dislike me? I'm nothing but respectful! I care for Dilton a lot! If one or both of us is hurt, it's either on accident or from someone else!" I tell him as I was so upset and confused why he acted out towards me.

"Come on Dilton. Let's go home." Mr. Doiley says as he pushed his son out the door. I teared up from sadness. Uncle fred took me to his car while Archie drove his mom.

"You ok kiddo?" He asked me. I teared up and shook my head.

"No." I said as my voice cracked. He sighed as I felt him stop at the stop light.

"Why does Mr. Doiley hate me?" I asked him quietly. Uncle Fred knew I was polite to him but he still resents me being around Dilton.

"Because he thinks you're like everyone else. Someone taking advantage of him." He explained to me.

"But I'm not." I say softly in defence.

"And I believe you. It's just hard for him to believe. That's all. He's the same to Archie." He explained to me. I then felt him take a turn. I looked up and saw Pop's. I was confused.

"Come on. I know what'll cheer you up." He says as he helped me out of the car. I curiously followed him inside. We both sat at a booth just as Pops showed up.

"Well hello Fred. Good to see you around!" He greeted.

"Same to you Pops. How about an old fashion triple chocolate Milkshake with a hint of peanut butter and whip cream with chocolate sprinkles on top. Just the way we used to have them. Two actually." He asked as he mentioned the good old days.

"Sure thing. And how are yo-oh my! What happened?" Pops suddenly asked as he stopped mid greeting to me.

"Lab accident." I say and shrug. He didn't need the details.

"Oh. Well, sorry to hear that." Pops said with a hint of sadness.

"Stuff happens." I say simply.

"Dilton's dad blames her and keeps treating her badly." Uncle Fred explained.

"Well, I understand why, but Aria's a sweetheart." Pops said. I smiled sweetly.

"Thanks Pops. And, I'll still be in tomorrow to work. So no babying me." I say jokingly. Pops laughed and smiled.

"No problem. I'll get those milkshakes ready now." He says then leaves. I smiled. At Pop Tates I was loved. I was loved through most of Riverdale. I might be different, but I'm still human.

"You always did use Milkshakes to cheer me and Archie up." I say softly to him. I really did look up to Uncle Fred. He was like the father I wish I had, nothing like the one I have now.

"I'm glad some things don't change." He says with a kind smile. Pops gave us the shakes and left us be. I drank a little bit and my eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"Wowzers! This tastes _**incredible!**_ " I gasped out happily.

"Indeed. This was one of my favorite shakes growing up." He tells me as he drinks some.

"I can see why." I say and drink more.

"Easy now. Don't get a brain freeze." He tells me. I drank it all down quickly and then held my head.

"Ow. Minor brain freeze." I say softly. Uncle Fred sighed and shook his head with a small smile.

"I warned you." He says then chuckles.

"Yeah, but it was worth it." I say and chuckle with him. We stayed and talked for a while before he paid and took me home to rest. I'd rest later though. Right now, I was going to help Archie with the weird Mystery column. I got up there just in time to see Archie done with his half. I sat down and told him my side of the story.

"It didn't take a genius to know that the Thinking Cap had to be destroyed and it sure is nice having the old Moose back. ~Archie. Yes, but I'm glad i had Dilton not listen to you right away. Otherwise, Moose wouldn't be better. ~Aria. True. Now Moose is getting smarter. ~Archie. Only now, he's taking the time to study for real. As a result, the grade point average is a little higher. ~Aria. ...In a little town called Riverdale! ~Archie and Aria!"

"I'm glad that's done and overwith." I say happily. Archie then hugged me.

"You gonna be ok?" He asked me.

"Geeze Arch, you act like I'm dying! I'm fine alright? How about you though?" I asked him.

"Nothing too bad. I'm good enough for football." He tells me.

"I'd rather you sit this one game out. After getting knocked in the head like that, another blow could lead to a concussion." I tell him flat out.

"I'll be alright." He tells me. "Is that how I sound when I'm stubborn?" I suddenly ask. Archie nods his head. I sighed.

"Fine. Go ahead. Just be extra careful ok?" I say softly to him. He was my cousin, my family I cared for, so of course I'm gonna worry.

"I will. You should rest though." He tells me. I smile and nod my head before I go down to my room. I eventually fall asleep.


	50. Chapter 49

Chapter 49: One Year Anniversary!

*Aria's POV*

I woke up with a bright smile on my face. Why? Because it was mine, Jughead's and Dilton's one year anniversary. Now, we're in May. May 7th to be exact. I got up, picked out my biker outfit and ran to the bathroom. I was singing in the shower a bit louder than usual, but I didn't care, I was that happy. I got out, tossed the bag off my cast that I still had on, went to my room, got dressed, brushed my hair, did my make up and then skipped down the stairs. I grabbed a peach, put Allegro on his leash, and took him for a walk. Did I mention it was Monday? And it was 7 Am? And there was no school today because of a teachers convention? I think I neglected to say that. Oh well. I walked with Allegro by my side as we headed to the park. We got there and I saw a kid crying, a kid I knew actually.

"Luke? What's wrong?" I asked as I hurried over to him. He looked up at me with sad eyes.

"Aria?" He asked then hugged me tightly.

"I ran away. I Don't wanna go to school." He says sadly.

"Why not? School is good for you." I say sweetly to him.

"Because Duke's sick." He said in a low sad voice. Now I get it.

"I might not understand fully, but I do understand you don't want to leave your twin behind. Right?" I asked. Those two were always together since birth. He nods yes as he held me.

"So you tried to run off but got lost?" I asked. He nods yes again. Allegro went over and licked him. Luke giggled and gently pet him.

"Why don't I take you to school and we'll talk along the way." I suggest. He looks down but nods yes. I let him hold the leash, ordered Allegro to walk slow, and walked with Luke while using my good hand to hold his.

"You know, one day you and Duke will live separate lives, so sooner or later you can't be by each other's side all the time." I explain to him.

"I know, but I'd rather it be later rather than sooner." He says cutely to me. He was the sweet twin.

"I know, but it's ok to not be by each other's side all the time." I say sweetly to him.

"Like you and your cousin?" He asked me.

"Yeah actually. As kids, we were almost always by each other's side when we visited. Even when I moved here, we only spent a couple weeks almost inseparable but now do things apart." I explained to him. He didn't respond as he looked around. I sighed softly.

"You'll be alright. Clarice will be there and your classmates. I'm sure you and Duke have friends right?" I asked just to make sure. He nods yes.

"But it's not the same without him." He says sadly.

"I get it, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try." I explain as we neared the school.

"I guess you're right." He says as he looked up at me. He then gave me a big smile.

"If I go to school, will I be as smart as you?" He asked me. His eyes shined with a small amount of hope. What was I gonna tell the kid? No? Maybe? He was too cute.

"Yes, maybe even more so." I say honestly to him. He brightened up even more and my heart felt like it would burst from his joy and cuteness. I looked up and saw a teacher looking at us as she started coming over.

"Ok Luke, no more running away now." I say softly as I let his hand go.

"I won't." He says as he, hands me the leash then, runs to his teacher. I couldn't understand what they were saying, but the teacher looked at me and waved with a smile before guiding Luke inside. I smiled, holding the leash tightly, then started heading home. Once I got home, I let Allegro off his leash, went in the living room and started watching TV for a while. Archie soon woke up, Betty came over, then the phone rang.

"Hello, Andrews residence Aria speaking." I answered politely.

"Hey Aria, it's Jughead." I heard and smiled.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked him as my smile started growing.

"Wanna go with me and Dilton to the movies? There's a new horror movie out." He was telling me with excitement. I started frowning.

*A movie? Dilton doesn't like horror movies much and we tend to see them a lot. Is that all there is?* I thought to myself sadly.

"Sure. Sounds fun." I say as I tried to sound happy.

"Great! We'll come get you." He tells me.

"Naw, I'll meet you there." I say to him.

"Ok. See you then." He says then hangs up. I hung up and sighed.

*I know I shouldn't be greedy or needy, but I thought there'd be something… More.* I thought as I tossed my skates on and skated off. I was holding a bag that had something special for both of them.

*I worked really hard on them, I hope they like them a lot.* I thought as I hurried to them. Even if we only went to the movies, they still deserve something nice. I got there but I didn't see them yet.

*I must be early.* I thought as I waited patiently.

*42 minutes later*

I was annoyed now. Why were they late? I was hoping nothing bad had happened when I saw Jughead walking up to me.

"Hey, you ok? Is Dilton alright?" I asked worriedly. I'd be annoyed later.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be late. Dilton wanted me to get you for your surprise." He tells me as he gently hugs me. We soon started walking.

"Really?" I asked with in a slightly annoyed tone, worry all gone.

"Yeah, the plan was to have you wait here, but then we took a lot longer to finish and I ended up late." He explained to me as we headed to Dilton's house. I was curious now. What did they get me? What did they _make_ me? I would soon find out because we arrived at Dilton's house. I stopped Jughead and looked around.

"Don't worry, his parents are gone. They won't be back until either later tonight or tomorrow." He tells me with a reassuring smile. I relaxed and smiled.

"That's good." I say softly as I followed him inside. I was guided to Dilton's new room and gasped. It was the same but bigger. It was almost 3 times the size of his last room.

"Salutations Aria. Sorry for the delay, but we wanted to surprise you together." Dilton tells me. I turn and see him come out of his closet with some tools and machine parts in hand. I was curious as I watched him set it down on his bed.

"Um… What-" I started asking but Jughead put a finger on my mouth to shush me.

"We both were having a hard time deciding what we should give you, so we both decided on something you might not have had." He says to me. I was curious as he pulled out what looked like a sleek laptop. I was very curious now. Jughead put me in a seat then smiled.

"Yeah, so we got you this!" He says as he pulled out…

"No way?! A hover board?!" I gasped in delight.

"Yes, Jughead said you like to skate at the park and thought a skate board would be good." Dilton tells me.

"But I also remembered you liked back to the future and the hover board they had so." Jughead said as he turned the board on and showed it floating.

"We did this!" Both boys said. It was beautiful. It was purple with black patches and black and purple stars, music notes and silver glitter on it. I teared up a bit before tackle hugging them both to the ground.

"You two are amazing!" I say loudly In happiness. I heard them both yelp in surprise before they hugged me back. I got up and helped them up.

"You two are amazing." I say with joy.

"Well, this was mostly Dilton, but I tried to help." Jughead said with an embarrassed smile.

"You still helped. You both are amazing guys." I say with a sweet smile.

"Oh! That reminds me!" I say as I grabbed the bag.

"They're not as great as the gift you two gave me, but I worked hard on them still." I say as I pulled out their gifts. I gave Dilton a cute scientific tool belt along with cute nerdy goggles and a hand made scientist coat with his name embroidered on it. Jughead, he was tough. I made him a shirt, long sleeve, with the letter S on it, supposedly for his name or a middle name which I replicated from an old shirt he had, a shirt the promoted Pop Tate's Burgers and a burger plushie.

"Aw! I love them!" Jughead said as he hugged his plushie.

"Very nice work. So detailed!" Dilton agreed as he put the belt on. I blushed and looked down.

"I tried really hard." I say softly.

"And these are _wonderful!_ " Jughead said in joy.

"You're the best girlfriend ever." Dilton tells me as I blushed a deeper red. I suddenly had both boys hug me and kiss my cheeks. I smiled and giggled at how they acted. We watched a movie together and happily ate dinner at Dilton's. I sighed as I soon heard the clock chime 8.

"Guess it's time to go." I say softly to them.

"We'll see each other after school though." Dilton tells me in comfort.

"Yes, that's true." I say to them. I gave them both a hug, put my skates away but put my helmet on. I was going to test the hover board out.

"Just don't use it on water or it wont work and be careful going really high in the air or on walls ok?" Dilton says to me as he hands me a small booklet to read on how to work it.

"I'll be careful. I promise." I say happily to him. I went outside and turned it on. I set it down and watched it float. I was thoroughly impressed. I put my foot on it and tested it. In truth, I never used a skate board. I soon went off. I started off slow but gradually sped up and was used to it. I sped home as I went by people on the side walk. I went through the park and passed people I knew from school. I even saw Jimmy trying to flirt with a girl, which she threw water at him. Poor guy. I finally made it home and kicked the board up before turning it off. I rushed inside and showed Archie, Aunt Mary and Uncle Fred in joy. I flaked on dinner and ran out to the back yard to play with Allegro. After another hour we both went to bed. What? I had school in the morning.


	51. Chapter 50

**I AM SOOOOOOO SORRY EVERYONE! NEVER HAD MY SURGERY I PLANNED, MOVED INTO AN APARTMENT WITH FRIEND FOR 2 WEEKS BEFORE SHE UP AND WENT HOME AND I HAD TO MOVE OUT BACK HOME FOR A WEEK THEN MOVE INTO AN APARTMENT ALONE, TOO MUCH WORK AT WORK, SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MANY THINGS DUDES AND DUDETTES! FORGIVE ME!**

Chapter 50: Misfortune Hunters!

*Aria's POV*

Today was another day in Riverdale. I had gone home, did some of my homework, and studied for finals that were less than 4 weeks away before going to work. My arm was still in the cast but it should be off by the time finals are over… Hopefully. I was half way there when I saw Betty with a kid.

*That's weird. It's not Betty's babysitting day.* I thought as I waved at her with a smile.

"Hey Betty. I thought you weren't babysitting today?" I greeted then asked as I met up with her.

"I'm not. But Mrs. Boyston had a doctor's appointment so I'm watching her son, Timmy, for her." She told me. I smiled at the kid.

"Hello Timmy. I'm Aria." I greeted. He smiled and waved at me.

"Are you getting paid?" I asked Betty. She shook her head no.

"I'm doing this as a favor." She told me.

"That's very nice of you Betty, but just be careful alright. You still need money to do things and too many acts of kindness will catch up. Remember, No good deed goes unpunished." I tell her wisely. To me, it was true sometimes. Betty just rolled her eyes at me.

"Alright. I'll remember." She told me before Timmy tugged her arm.

"Well, I'm taking him to the park. I'll see you later." She told me.

"Bye Betty. Bye Timmy." I waved both goodbye as we went our separate ways.

*Why do I feel like she won't listen to me at all.* I thought as I sighed. Betty was sweet and kind hearted, but gullible and foolish as well. Anyhow, I made it to work a few minutes early and started helping Pops out. Since he knew finals were coming up, he let me come in to work an hour later so I'd have time to study. I did Tuesdays through Thursdays only so I wouldn't become overwhelmed in my studies. Archie came in half an hour later, along with Jughead, then Reggie and Veronica later on. I took their orders and served them. Reggie started flirting and Jughead kicked him from under the table to get him to stop. Basically, the usual. I went over to get more drinks for the gang, upset to hear Reggie and Veronica talk about how 'She's sweet enough to give Mary Poppins tooth decay' and what not. I just never understood why Reggie and Veronica had friends, let alone Veronica dating my cousin. In my view, Reggie and Veronica were _made_ for each other. I left with the used cups and skated into the back to drop them off. When I came back out, I saw Reggie on the floor in shock and Betty standing in front of him. I curiously skated over.

"Um… What exactly happened?" I asked Betty.

"I opened a fortune cookie, I helped someone, got $50 for helping him, came back and told them and Reggie fell in shock." Betty told me shortly.

"So… A fortune cookie came true?" I asked her in slight confusion.

"Yeah. I got a cookie in the mailbox." She told me. Reggie fixed himself up as Veronica gave a smug smile.

"See? She did it for money after all." Veronica said in a snooty tone.

"Now hold on there. I doubt it. I know Betty and, as too sweet as she is, she would never do something for just the reward." I defended Betty, hating Veronica's attitude.

"Aria's right, _and_ Betty helped that man out _before_ she knew he was rich." Archie agreed with me.

"Well, I wish _someone_ would give _me_ a cookie like that." Reggie said glumly. I then felt a hand on my butt.

"You'll get a knuckle sandwich, on the house, if you don't remove your hand Mantel!" I scolded darkly. Before he made a reply

'Whack'

Something hit him in the back of the head.

"Ouch!" He yelped, removing his hand to rub his sore spot, as the object bounced off the back of his head and land on the table. I looked and saw a fortune cookie with a little piece of paper that had Betty's name on it.

*Too weird.* I thought to myself as Betty took the cookie.

"Ah. Another one for Betty." Archie said happily.

"Way to state the obvious Arch." I mutter as Betty opened the cookie.

"Where do these keep coming from?" Reggie asked in an annoyed tone.

"That's actually a good question." I muttered as I looked around. I didn't see anyone.

*Definitely a weird mystery.* I thought as Betty read the cookie. I didn't pay much attention as I decided to look around outside. I thought I heard someone but saw no one in the ally. I shrugged and went back to work. I went to the kitchen then came back to see the table empty. I frowned as the bill wasn't paid… Heck! I never gave it to them! I sighed and groaned in annoyance, feeling like this had _something_ to do with Betty's cookies.

"I'm missing out on something then." I muttered as I cleaned up. I totaled up the bill, went to the register, then put it all on their tabs. I hated doing that, but hey, what can you do? I cleaned up and was able to leave early, since it was slow. It was 5:45 pm and I was almost home.

*Wait… GAH! I FORGOT TO DO MY ART PROJECT! NO NO NO! IT'S WORTH MOST OF MY GRADE!* I thought in a panic as I then thought of Betty.

*She'll help me think of what to do for it.* I thought as I rushed to her house and knocked on her door. Betty answered and saw me.

"Hey Aria, something wrong? Oh! Was it about the bill? I'm so sorry." She said but I shook my head.

"The bill is on a tab. I need help with an art project. I forgot to do it. Could you help me with some ideas?" I asked her with pleading eyes.

"Oh sure. Come on in." She said as she let me in. I smiled.

"Thanks Betty, I owe you one." I say softly as I went past her.

"No problem, that's what friends are for." She said sweetly. She was always kind and sweet.

*I wonder if Ronnie is only nice to me because I'm Archie's cousin… I doubt Betty's like that.* I thought randomly as I sat in the kitchen.

"I'm not sure what to do. The project had to be based on a type of fable." I say as I sighed.

"A fable?" Betty asked as she grabbed 2 cups from her cabinet.

"Yeah, like 'The Scorpion And The Frog.' or 'The dog and her reflection.' How these stories teach you a lesson, that's what the painting is supposed to represent in a way, except more modern or based on an event." I say as Betty went to the fridge.

"What's 'The Scorpion and the Frog' about?" Betty asked as she stopped, hand on the fridge handle, to look at me.

"It's a story that teaches you not to be so trusting. A frog fell in love with a scorpion, because of his charm, and he asked to ride on her back to cross either a pond, lake or ocean depending on the story." I start explaining to her.

"What happened? Did the Frog let it?" She asked me as she seemed more interested in the story.

"Well, duh. It wouldn't be a fable without a lesson. She accepted and let him climb on her back. She then swam, but as she swam, the scorpion smiled and stung her many times. By the time they were across, she died and he was unharmed." I said as she gasped and covered her mouth with the tips of her fingers.

"That's awful!" She tells me. I just nod.

"That story teaches, no matter how kind or sweet someone or something is, don't be so trusting/naive. It will always come with a price, that could be your life." I warned her.

"But it's only a story." Betty said as she opened the fridge.

"It's a tale of warning, Betty. Like, not to fly to close to the sun or don't be greedy, this is like those. A warning in a story." I explain to her.

"Well, I don't think that's-hey! Another cookie." Betty suddenly said as she pulled a cookie on a plate out instead of a drink. It wasn't just any cookie though. It was a _fortune_ cookie.

"Betty, who put that in here?" I asked as I looked around. I grew nervous, but Betty seemed to shrug it off.

"Maybe my dad or my mom." Betty said casually as she opened the cookie.

"You can bring joy to a sad couple, by answering the want ad." She read out loud.

"Betty, that's suspicious! Someone is _obviously_ taking advantage of you!" I say as she grabbed the paper and looked through it.

"You're too suspicious Aria, I doubt I'd find-Oh my gosh! Here it is!" She said then redirected the conversation. She then put the paper in front of me and pointed to the ad.

"Would honest person please find lost heirloom. A silver dagger Last seen in basement of the Statlemeyer Mansion. Many thanks." I read out loud as my brows furrowed.

"Betty, it's a trap! I feel like it's a huge set up!" I scold as I stood up.

"But the cookie said-" She started but I interrupted.

"Betty stop! It's a trap or a trick! Something is wrong! I can feel it! It's screaming with sirens going off at this point! Why can't they go?! Why an honest person only?! And how convenient that the cookies tell you all these things!" I scold even more harsh than I ever had before.

"If you feel it's a trap, come with me then. If you feel you need to keep me safe, after all, safety in numbers." She says calmly, though I could tell she was holding in some anger.

"Alright, fine. I will. I'll prove that these cookies are the scorpion's charm." I tell her as I crossed my arms. Betty sighed but guided to the location, where our search, and trouble, were about to start.

*Later on Aria's POV*

I had to open the map, since we didn't really know where the mansion was. We walked all the way there, found where the old unused one way road was to it, and hiked up to the place. It was a creepy beat up abandoned mansion, isolated barely on the outskirts of town. We just looked at the place in shock.

"This place has been abandoned for years. Pretty spooky." Betty said softly.

"We don't have to do this Betty. It's condemned. We could get hurt in there, or the parasites could get us sick." I say as a caution. But Betty shook her head no as she ignored me.

"But, if anyone could help a sad couple, Betty Cooper can." She said with determination. I smacked my palm on my forehead.

*I swear, sometimes, she's a typical blonde.* I think as I looked at her.

"I'm going to have to follow you to keep you safe, huh?" I asked her, as she looked at the mansion with determination.

"No. You can stay out here if you want." She says as she starts walking to the place. I sighed and followed her.

"Yup. I'm going in too." I grumbled, as Betty refused to heed my warnings.

*Third POV*

The female hunter got mad at the fact Betty wasn't alone.

"Darn… She brought a friend." She muttered to her partner.

"So? Two would be better if both are nice." The guy said as he felt sore still.

"Shut up. We need to lure her away." His female partner whispered as he watched Betty open the door and start to go in.

"Meow! Meow!" The guy suddenly started meowing.

"What are you doing?!" The woman hissed quietly at her partner.

"If I meow, she'll think I'm a hurt cat and come over." He whispered back as he meowed perfectly, sounding identical to a hurt cat. Aria heard this and froze.

"Betty! You go on! I hear a hurt cat!" she cried out to her friend, who was at the bottom of the basement.

"Alright, hurry up though!" Betty called up as she looked around. Aria ran to the cries, that were near a bush. She called for the cat and opened the bush, just to be nabbed by the two hunters and restrained.

"Betty! He-Mmph!" Aria called out before gagged. Betty heard this and started up the stairs.

"Aria? What's wrong?" She calls, but as soon as she was half way up, the stairs turned into a slide. Betty cried out as she fell backwards, through an opening on the floor, and down to a secret room under the basement. She oofed and stood up, but saw there was no way back up.

"Oh Aria." She said in a worried tone. Aria was being held hostage, tied and gagged, as the hunters smiled.

"You're now our back up, just in case Miss Goodie two shoes decides to try and not give us the dagger." The woman said with a horrible grin. It was then Aria realized that everything _was_ a trick and Betty was in danger. Aria went to fight, but the guy sat on her.

"Ah-ah. We worked too hard for this." He taunts as Aria grunted from his weight. All she could do was hope Betty wasn't in trouble. Meanwhile, Betty looked around.

"I don't know about this…" She muttered before shaking her head.

"Buck up Betty! The fortune cookies haven't harmed you yet. You go girl! Find that dagger!" She said, giving herself a pep talk, before finding an entrance and walking through it. She worried about Aria, but the sooner she found the dagger, the sooner she could get out.

"Who knew there was a maze under the old Statlemeyer place." Betty marveled as she looked around. She then came across the first trial. A gold plated measurer, like those the Egyptians used, filled with gems on each side. It looked odd, one side longer than the other, as there was writing on the wall behind it that shined above as well.

"Please take one." Betty read out loud. She looked at it in question, but didn't think much of it.

"If you say so." She says with a smile as she reached and grabbed one from the longer side. It tilted up a small bit, and once it did, it opened a secret passage in the wall while blocking off the other path. This was the opposite of what happened to the two hunters, which Betty didn't know about. Betty heard the movement and looked to see the walls changing her path.

"Oh." Betty spoke softly in surprise, but didn't question it, as she started down her new path. It was dark, so she started feeling the wall to guide her. Meanwhile, Aria was trying to wiggle again, refusing to be a pawn, but the man was heavy. Thankfully, he wasn't sitting on her broken arm. She was starting to bounce him a small bit though, hoping to move him. The woman saw this and hit her head hard with her boot.

"Quit squirming brat. You weren't even supposed to be here." She snarled as Aria felt a bit dizzy.

*Those boots hurt* She thought as she decided to stay still.

*If I save my strength, I might be able to get away and have Betty not give them the dagger… Though, why do they need her?* She thought as she tried to keep her mind off the headache she was now getting. Back to Betty, she saw a patch of light before hearing chirping sounds by her feet.

"Aw. A baby bird fell out of it's nest." She said worriedly, not even thinking how a bird could be down in a secluded maze. She only thought of doing the right thing as she bent down and picked up the baby bird. She stood and looked at it, as the block piece it was on shifted up without her notice, and realized it wasn't real. A timer started ticking, counting down one minute before the trap would release.

"Gosh, this isn't a real baby bird, it's just a toy." She spoke in awe as the timer already reached down to 45 seconds, and still going, before release. Betty looked up as the timer, that she didn't know was there, reached 30 seconds.

"Well, I'll put it back in it's nest anyway." Betty said, as she saw the nest above her on a tiny perch, while the timer reached 25 seconds left. Betty started climbing, toy bird in hand, up all the way to the top, about 13 feet up, before putting the bird in the nest. Suddenly, the timer stopped at zero and spikes from both sides shot out of the walls, barely under her feet, as she went wide eyed at the blade sound and looked down.

"Wow! Good thing I climbed up here!" She exclaimed in surprise as she shimmied her way to the other side before jumping and landing safely.

"Now, to find that dagger!" She said with determination, instead of fear, as she pressed forward. Betty turned a corner, barely walked two feet after, before seeing a plank of wood with sharp rust nails sticking out of it right in front of her feet.

"I better move that. Don't want someone to accidentally step on it." She said as she bent down. She failed to notice the slice in the wall, only seeing the wood. She bent down all the way and

'WOOSH!'

An ax flew over her head, barely missing the top of her high pony tail in the process. She heard the woosh then a loud clang before gasping and shooting straight up and looked behind her. She barely saw the ax that came at her and now saw the double edge sticking out of the wall.

"If I hadn't bent over, I would have lost my head!" She exclaimed fearfully as she put fer free hand to her neck in both shock and fear. Betty put the wood around the corner, safely out of harms way, as she walked into a room. She smiled brightly at what she found. The dagger, sticking out of a chest lock.

"The dagger! I found it!" She exclaimed happily as she walked forward to it. She went up the small steps, right in front of the chest, and without thinking she pulled it out if the lock and examined it. It had a gold handle, covered in lovely gems, as the pure silver blade shined brightly. The sad couple will be so happy!" She exclaimed brightly as her back was now away from the chest. Betty didn't realize the mistake she had made from doing that. The chest opened up and a light shined from it for a few seconds before vanishing. You see, that dagger was a special lock, the only one to use actually because of the special silver and the gems aligned a special way to make it one of a kind and demon proof, to keep a certain type of demon locked in it. One that could never leave the earth.

"And now that _you_ freed _me,_ I too, am happy!" A demonic, yet soothing but mischievous voice, replied back to her from in the chest. "Huh?" Betty questioned as she turned to the now open stone chest, a stern look upon her face. Something told her that that voice belonged to something bad. Suddenly, long boney fingers exposed them selves, then wings, then horns, until green eyes were seen, eyeing Betty from within the chest. This was an odd type of gargoyle. Not like normal ones, oh no. This one was different from its protective brethren. It was demonic! It's claws tapped along the edge of the chest playfully and hissed, as he eyes Betty happily yet sadistically, as if he couldn't decide whether to harm her or set her free… for now.

"Hello _darling._ " It drolled out as his tongue flickered about, almost reptilian like. Betty gasped in shock at the horrid creature in front of her. She screamed as she ran the other way, hoping she could get out, as the gargoyle came out. It suddenly shed it's stone skin to reveal reptilian skin, another thing that made him different was having reptile blood and skin, as he walked out of the room and into the hall happily. He smiled, a few fangs sticking out of his mouth, as he smiled and hissed. He took a few seconds before deciding to leave her be and walk to freedom after so many years. As he walked, Betty ran back to where she fell and saw she could now exit. She didn't hesitate and climbed up quickly before escaping the mansion. Escaping that _creature!_ The couple saw her running and dragged Aria over to her, as Betty ran into the man. Batty gasped as she looked at the couple.

"Who are you?" She asked them.

"Brad and Whitney, Fortune hunters at large." The lady introduced. Finally, Aria knew their names, but a lot of good it did right now. Betty soon noticed Aria but was too late as Brad had grabbed Betty's arm so Whitney could snatch the dagger. Once they got it, they let Betty go.

"No you're not! You're the man I helped across the street! And you're the lady who dropped her book! Why do you have Aria!" She demanded.

"That's right, girly girl. We tricked you into obeying our fortune cookies, because you're so darn _nice_ and _helpful."_ Brad said in a sweet mocking tone.

"And _gullible!_ No one but a good natured person could've survived that maze and that's you doll face. You're friend here wasn't supposed to come, but tricking her into finding an injured cat was easy. She was a back up in case you didn't give us the dagger." She said and tossed Aria at Betty.

"Aria! You ok?" She asked as she ungagged her. Aria finally understood now.

"Betty, What happened down there? Survived? Was there something there?" She asked her friend with worry. Betty then realized something. She needed that dagger back. She untied Aria then looked at them.

"But I released some kind of monster back there." Betty exclaimed to them.

"You what?!" Aria nearly flipped after hearing that.

"That's right. The Melodonia demon, trapped by professor Statlemeyer years ago by dagger, kept him imprisoned." Whitney tells them both.

"Give it back then! We need to trap it! It's obviously bad!" Aria yelled at them.

"Yeah! And scary! So give it back!" Betty added in as both girls tried to get it. Brad easily pushed them both back though.

"No, I don't think so. Riverdale ca deal with the creature, Brad and I are heading off to cash in on this _priceless_ dagger." Whitney said with a smug smile to match her tone.

"Thanks for your help, miss good deed." Brad taunted as he chuckles while leaving with Whitney. Aria's blood boiled while Betty was upset.

"I… I was… Set up..." Betty said in shock and sadness.

"Don't start now Betty. I won't even say Told ya so, but we need to get that dagger. Come on!" Aria said, but Betty moved away from her.

"Betty?" Aria questioned as Betty looked really upset.

"You were right… I'm the frog, and they're the scorpions… The cookies were the sweet words to trick me..." Betty said in horror and sadness. Aria knew she was right, but also knew she needed to comfort Betty. She was about to speak, until she heard stomping, creaking, and hissing. Both girls turned to see the demon right there. Aria paled at the sight of it. This was worse than she imagined. Betty pulled her into a bush with her before the demon could see them.

"Hehehe… Now to cause some _destruction._ " It hissed out happily before it started walking away. Aria shuddered at the sound of it's voice.

*Aria's POV*

Once the coast was clear, they ran. They ran fast and far until they made it to Betty's house. The girls needed a plan. Aria was willing, but Betty was so upset and distraught that she couldn't focus. Aria had turn the TV on and saw the destruction.

*This'll only grow worse… We need that dagger though.* She thought as the gears in her head started turning.

"Betty, we need to get that dagger now." I tell her as I turn to her.

"No." She tells me. I blinked in surprise.

"No? No? But… But Betty… You always help out when needed." I try to comfort her.

"I'm done helping! It's nothing but trouble!" She tells me suddenly. I was shocked by both her tone and attitude.

"Betty Cooper! Not all good deeds lead to trouble! You just need to know who to help! Like your friends! Like me!" I say in shock.

"No! I'm done helping! If you want that dagger back, you go get it!" She snapped as she stood up. I grew angry at that moment.

"Fine! I will! I'm willing to stick my neck out for the town I love!" I scream and storm out. I ran home and grabbed my hover board.

"If she won't help me, then I'll do it myself!" I huff as I turned the board on and hovered into town quickly. I followed the destruction and fear all around Riverdale, hoping to find the thieves or the demon. I had found the demon 1st as an Idea popped in my head.

*I hope they're still at the house.* I thought as I threw a rock at it. It hissed and glared at me.

"Hey ugly! Wanna play!" I taunt as I circled around him. He hissed as he watched.

"I'll make you pay for that." He hissed out quietly. I laughed.

"Catch me first!" I yell before zooming off. I looked and saw him on my tail. I smirked as he fell for my trap. I sped up a little to test his speed. He picked up speed and was gaining fast. I stepped on a button and went even faster as he kept up nicely. I swerved and manoeuvred around different objects, like crushed cars, broken glass, shredded metal, water spilling from hydrants ect., and hurried to the mansion. I swerved to the back and saw the car there.

*Perfect.* I thought as I turned the corner. Bad idea. The demon was there and he put his arm out, so my belly hit his arm very hard, and my board flew into the bushed. I oofed and felt sick as I suddenly fell.

"I win red." He hissed out as he gave a wicked smile. I decided to play along and smiled back.

"Yup… You did." I said tauntingly to him.

"You tricked me here!" He hissed out as he hovered over me. I then did the unexpected. I chuckled before lightly laughing. He then went from angry to confused.

"Why laugh?" He asked.

"Because I thought of who should suffer your destruction, just for pure entertainment." I tell him. He then gave an interested look.

"Really?" He hissed out.

"Yes, but… I doubt you wanna hear it… Since you're probably gonna kill me and all." I say nonchalantly with a shrug. He then got in my face, an eager look in his eyes.

"Ooh.~ Tell me." He says to me.

"Hm." I say and put my finger to my chin.

"I don't know… Maybe it's _too_ good an idea to waste sharing with _you."_ I taunt and smile.

"Tell me now! I wanna know!" He nearly yelled as he started a tantrum.

"Ok ok." I say and crawl to show him the green car.

"They're gonna drive off soon. If you chain them to the tree, they won't know and they'll speed out of here. It'll cause a crash, lots of destruction, and perhaps a few serious, even deadly, injuries." I whisper as I felt him hover over me. He grabbed my head to look over it at the car more, then chuckled as he pushed me into the ground.

"Clever clever… I'll get back to you _after_." He hissed out as he darted off. I rose and chuckled, loving how easy that was, just as Archie, Reggie, Veronica and Jughead show up.

"I love it when a plan gets even better." I mutter with a smile. My plan? Simple. Get the demon to wreck the treasure hunters' car, steal the dagger back, then get him back in the chest. With Archie and the gang here, it'll be better.

*Wish Betty was here though.* I thought as I saw my plan go into action. They were going to ram the gang, but then the chain tore the back wheels off, causing them to stop and crash into the windshield. I saw Archie grab the dagger and say something, but the demon looked mad as he approached Archie.

*He wants the dagger!* I thought as I ran out of hiding. He closed in on them.

"Archie! I'm open!" I cried out. He threw it over the demon and I caught it.

"You! You tricked me! I'll get you!" The demon screamed loudly at me.

"Uh oh." I squeaked out before running. He nearly caught up, but Archie drove up and hit him with his car. I kept running and grabbed my board.

"Aria hurry! Archie cried as the demon, who had been flung into near by bushes, started coming out. I hopped in the car, into Jughead's and Veronica's laps, and Archie drove off. The demon was chasing us, but soon fell far behind. I heard Archie mention the mansion and smiled.

"Took the idea right out of my head cous." I say as I felt stomach pain. The two helped me up as we got there. Once there, I showed them where to go and then we fell in through the maze. I landed on my feet and stumbled away before the rest fell in a pile.

"I can't _believe_ Betty came down here all by herself." Veronica said as they stood up. I looked at the words on the door and knew why the couple wanted Betty in there.

"Only a person, who's pure of heart and sees good deeds as dear, may pass unharmed and so retrieve the treasure hidden here." I read out loud to them.

"No wonder they chose Betty for this job… Not that you're not perfect too, but-" Jughead was starting to say but I stopped him.

"I got it. No worries." I say with a smile as I guided them in.

"Veronica! Reggie! Don't! Touch! Anything!" I say sternly to them.

"Why not?!" Reggie argued.

"Because you're self absorbed and greedy! And I don't want either of you to do something stupid! Mainly you Mantel!" I scold as we saw the 1st trap.

"I won't! He said rudely.

"Take only one." I read out loud.

"Ok. Simple." I say as I reached for one. Then Reggie stopped me.

"Why take one?! Take them all!" He said as he reached.

"Reggie! Don-" Archie started but, even before I could stop him, he took a handful. Then the secret way sealed up and the floor started opening. Before we all fell in though, someone pushed us out of the way.

"Betty?!" Archie said in shock. I looked up and saw Betty. She was dressed like an explorer, but it looked good on her.

"Betty! You came back!" I exclaimed happily as I got up and hugged her.

"I knew you'd help!" I added as I showed her the dagger.

"Here." I say as she took it.

"Thanks." She said as the gang got up.

"I know you're here to save us, but why?" I asked her suddenly.

"Well, I was feeling pretty bad about myself and my goody goody ways, but then something happened. My father was injured by one of the demon's bad deeds. That's when I realized that being helpful is more often a good thing. And I decided I wasn't going to let anymore people be hurt by my mistake. You were right though, not just about selective helping, but that helping the town you love is more important than doing nothing." Betty told us then told me the last bit. I smiled at her.

"So, thanks to Greedy there, I take it we need to go a different way?" I asked her.

"Hey! I'm not-Ow!" He started saying before I punched him. I then started wailing on him.

"I told you not to touch anything and you did! The writing said take one! You had to be greedy!" I screamed as I kept hitting him. No one stopped me for a bit.

"Ok ok Ow ok I'm sorry!" Reggie yelled before I stopped. I calmed down before bowing to Betty.

"Lead the way." I say as I gesture to follow her.

"I won't know this way, but everyone listens to me!" She says sternly before leading the way. We all followed quickly as we heard the demon come down here.

*Time skip to the end of the maze, Aria's POV*

After so many trials, a lot being tough with a cast on my arm, and nearly getting caught by that demon a couple times, we finally made it. It was a small room with a big stone chest in the back.

"There! That's the chest we have to get the demon in, then slam the lid shut and slide the dagger in to lock him up!" Betty exclaimed.

"Ok, but how?" I asked her. I didn't get my answer, as I heard a hissing sound right near my hear.

"You won't! Give me the dagger!" The demon hissed as he grabbed me. He still thought I had it.

"Stop! I have it!" Betty shouted as she showed him.

"Ah… The good deed doer has it… Give it to me!" He ordered. Veronica backed away while the guys tried to help me. He used one hand to keep magic on me so I couldn't move, then used his other hand to send the guys into the air and onto the ceiling.

"Betty! Trap him!" I call out as I felt the magic tighten up.

"There's no _way_ a nice person like you could _ever_ lock me up in that nasty box. Now could ya?" He taunts her, thinking she wouldn't do it. He approached her, hand out, as Betty hid the dagger behind her back.

"You're right. I couldn't let that happen." Betty suddenly said in a sad tone.

"What?! Betty! Wha-" I started saying, but the magic tightened up on me more, making my wheeze in pain.

"I thought not." He taunts as he got in her face. He never wanted to hurt Betty directly though. Not once. Probably being too good.

"Don't do it Betty! He's evil!" Archie warned her from the ceiling.

"I have to Archie. I have to be helpful, even to someone as bad as him." She exclaimed sadly. I was going to say something, when I noticed a painted stick behind her back. I understood immediately.

"Do it Betty! Help him!" I say suddenly.

"What?!" Everyone except the demon and Betty gasped out.

"See? Even your friend wants to help. Now give me that dagger." He hissed out playfully yet threateningly.

"Go fetch!" Betty said as she tossed the stick in the chest.

"A since of humor I see… I like that." He says joyfully before again.

"And as soon as I get that dagger, I'll treat you to a joke of my own!" He says as he released his spell on us and tossed Betty aside and ran to the chest.

"Except _I'll_ be the only one laughing!" He said then laughed as He dove in the stone chest. Betty then shut the chest.

"Laugh _this one_ off joker!" Betty said before slipping the dagger back in the lock hole. I didn't listen to the conversation, since I figured out what they were going to say, and took a deep breath of relief.

*Betty finally learned to be a bit wiser… And I think I know what to do for my project.* I thought as I rejoined the group in heading out. Jughead pulled me close and kissed my cheek.

"You ok hun?" He asked me softly.

"A bit sore, but I'm good." I say with a smile as I kissed his cheek too. Betty lead us to safety and we all climbed out. We made it to the car and started driving back to town. I smiled at Betty.

"So Betty… I know what I'm doing for the Art project… But I need your help with one small thing." I say softly to her.

"And what's that?" She asked me.

"I need you to model for me." I say to her.

"Sure. Ok. I can do that. I _did_ say I'd help you, and you did try to help me." Betty said as we smiled at each other. Archie dropped everyone off at their houses, after we all made sure people weren't too hurt and needed help, while I went to Betty's. I had her pose twice and sketched what I wanted. I then painted and took my time as Betty watched. Once done and dried, Betty loved it. It was shy her holding a fortune cookie, the monster slipping out of the chest after she freed it, then her in the new look tricking it before sealing it away again. It shows the fable, but her learning from it.

"Wow! This looks great!" Betty exclaimed happily.

"It's at least worth a B." I say as I yawned a squeaked yawn.

"I say an A+!" Betty said cheerfully.

"Want me to keep it here?" She asked me.

"No, it's cool. I don't wanna be a bother." I say softly.

"Oh, ok. Hey Aria?" She said softly. I turned to her.

"Yeah?" I asked before I suddenly felt her hug me.

"Thank you. You're an amazing friend." She said softly in my ear. I hugged her back.

"Anytime." I say as I pat her back gently. After the hug, I covered my painting up and headed home. Once it was put away safely, I went to Archie's room and sat with him as He typed up the article from Betty's side. I typed mine and then we made the conclusion together.

"And so, the demon was imprisoned once more and Betty learned to balance her trusting goodness with a bit of common sense. ~Aria. We're ll glad to know someone like Betty Cooper! ~Archie. Even if, and I don't blame her one bit, she never touches fortune cookies anymore. ~Aria. ...In a little town called Riverdale! ~Archie and Aria!"

We finished and I smiled.

"I guess the frog killed the scorpion and found the cure for it's sting." I say with a small smile.

"What?" Archie asked, not sure what I meant. I chuckled and shook my head.

"Don't worry about it. See you in the morning." I say as I got up and headed to bed.


	52. Chapter 51

**OK! So the dealio is I finished this earlier than planned. YAY! Things have now calmed down a bit and I'm (Hopefully) going to start having a steady work schedule! Enjoy my peeps!**

Chapter 51: A Surprise And Ending The School Year!

*Aria's POV*

Finally! The end of the school year! Woohoo! I had gotten an A on the art project, No weird mysteries have happened since the fortune cookies _and_ I passed everything with good grades! I got mostly A's, 2 B's, and was happy for the grades. Now I get the whole summer to work at the best job ever, spend time with both my boyfriends, play with Allegro and be free to do what I want! This couldn't get better! All I had to do was wait for the bell… 1 Minute and counting. A lot of us we're waiting anxiously while I just drew in my note book. I was drawing a group of horses, running in a field. It looked lifelike and lovely. I was thinking of coloring it when I heard the final bell ring. I let everyone rampage out while I put my things away. I knew I'd get trampled if I rushed, so I waited. I was slow heading out, but that was fine with me. As the seconds ticked away, I made it to my locker and grabbed my uniform.

"Hey Aria." I heard behind me. I looked over my shoulder and smiled.

"Hey Tyrone. Long time no see." I say with a smile as I closed my locker up.

"Taking your time?" He asked me.

"Yeah, it's better than being trampled." I say as I turned and smiled at him.

"Hey. Are you busy today?" He suddenly asked me.

"Well, I'm working today, but just a couple hours I think. Why?" I asked as we started walking, side by side, to the front door.

"Because My aunt's back in town and she's practically _dying_ to see you again." He tells me.

"Oh? About what?" I asked him curiously.

"Well.." He started as he blushed and rubbed the back of his head shyly. With the way he acted, you'd swear he still had a crush on me.

"She wants you to model her summer wear. Some of it." He suddenly told me. I looked at him with wide eyes.

"M-me? B-but… I'm not pretty." I say shyly. I didn't think I was pretty enough, nor thin enough, to be a model.

"Yes you are! You're the most beautiful girl in school! Um.. I mean… To me anyways..." He exclaimed before blushing and getting shy again.

*He's still crushing on me?* I thought to myself.

"Well, Thank you." I say with a blush.

"Do you think you can make it?" He asked as we were now outside. The sun was shining brightly as you could feel the warmth of it all around.

"Well, as I said, I am working today, but I'll be done at 4:30." I say sweetly to him.

"Great! Want a ride to work?" He asked me. I looked and saw Betty and Veronica pulling Archie either way and sighed.

"Sounds like a good idea." I say as I turned to him and smiled.

"Great. I'll let her know as soon as I see her." He says with a smile. I was suddenly pulled into a head lock and was getting a nuggie.

"Gah! No!~" I whined as I playfully fought back. I already knew it was Jimmy.

"Got ya Brosiphine!" He commented loudly before letting me go. I moved away and fixed my hair.

"Jimmy. You don't do that to a girl." Ronin said to him as he showed up next.

"It's cool. As long as It's fixable for work." I said as I stopped.

"Cool as always." Jimmy tells me as he gave me a thumbs up and a smile.

"Hey! Wait for me guys!" I heard Collins call out as he ran up to us. I smiled and waved hello to him.

"Hey!" I called out as he came over.

"I don't think I need to ask, but how was your final grade?" Collins asked me.

"Mostly A's." I say with a big smile.

"Mostly?" Ronin asked curiously.

"Yeah. 2 B's. No biggie." I say with a shrug. I was then picked up and spun. I shrieked happily, since I knew who this was.

"Dudette! You rarely _ever_ get B's! But I owe you for helping me study! I got C's in everything!" Geoff said loud and proud as he set me down.

"That's wonderful! I'm glad to have helped!" I say happily to him. I had tutored all of them in at least one subject, but I helped Geoff in all but phys ed. I caught a glimpse of familiar brown hair about to dump a tub of water on me, like he tried to last summer, and smiled.

"Sorry Geoff." I said and moved just in time. "Hu-AH!" He was starting to question until the cold water hit him instead of me. He didn't move fast enough and thought it would hit me instead.

"Aw shoot!" Tyler said as he pouted. We all laughed as we headed to the cars.

"By the way, party at my place this weekend! My folks are going away!" Tyler cheered out as he pumped his fist in the air happily. I laughed and smiled.

"If I don't work and Archie's folks say ok, then sure thing!" I say with excitement.

"Off to work now?" Ronin asked politely. I nodded yes.

"Dudette, you work too hard. Why not take a break?" Geoff asked me.

"I was given very little hours so I could study. I couldn't ask for time off, especially since this is the busy time." I say sweetly to him.

"Smart and responsible, yet knows when to have fun… I should've asked you on a date before Jughead and Dilton." Ronin complimented as I turned red.

"Aww!~ She's blushing! Is someone still shy on flirts?" Jimmy asked in a baby talking tone. I smacked his chest kinda hard.

"Ouch! And she's tough too!" Jimmy said as he rubbed his chest.

"Served you right." Tyrone told him before opening the passenger door for me. I hadn't realized we made it to his car either.

"Mind if I tag along?" Tyler asked us.

"I don't mind if Tyrone doesn't." I say as I got in the car.

"Sure. Hop in." He tells him. Tyler hopped in the back and smiled.

"Glad to join." Tyler says with a smile. Tyrone got in and we soon headed off to Pop Tate's.

"So, I read up on all the weird mysteries that involved you helping to solve or solving them yourself. What's it like?" Tyler suddenly asked me. I shrugged.

"Meh. I'm both used to it and yet still get surprised all at once." I say honestly.

"I bet I can name your top 5 that surprised you the most, maybe even scared you." Tyler said in a betting tone. I smirked.

"Yeah, but can you name them in order?" I asked smugly with a smug grin to match.

"Pft. Yeah." He says to me. I chuckled.

"Be my guest." I say and gesture a small bit.

"Tyler don't. You'll lose this one." Tyrone warned him.

"No I won't. And to prove it, if I loose, I'll buy burgers at Pops' for a week!" He says cockily as he started thinking. Tyrone rolled his eyes but kept them on the road.

"Ok ok. Um… top 5… number 5 is… When supreme girl came and you were held hostage for knowing her weakness. Then… 4th is when…. You… faced the werewolf! So that means being a puppet's bride the 1st time, more so than the second, was the third one. Then the ghost that haunted the twins you watch, then the spider thing in your nightmares! Yes! I! Am!-" He started saying but I stopped him.

"Wrong!" I say to him.

"What?!" He choked out.

"You're wrong on number 3 and 5." I tell him. He choked on his words before finding them.

"Seriously?!" He finally gasped out.

"Yup." I say to him.

"Ok. So what are they?" He asked.

"5th was when I got turned into a Vampire… Twice!" I exclaimed to him. Yeah, that wasn't fun at all.

"Ok… And the other one?" He asked curiously.

"That would be a tie between when I became ghost like, only able to move objects, since Archie wasn't to worried about me at that time, and Dorsa Fin because she took me only as a spare and a pawn to use if someone tried to take Archie." I explained to him.

"No fair! Number 3 was a trick!" He exclaimed.

"If you would've said either one, then I would've given you credit." I told him honestly. Tyler groaned, since now he has to buy burgers for a week, as he hung his head.

"I told you you'd loose." Tyrone told him with a small smile.

"Shut it." He said in an upset tone. I laughed and reached back to pat his shoulder.

"There there. It's alright." I said to him in a comforting tone. I then felt the car stop and Tyrone parked it.

"We're here." Tyrone said happily. I smiled.

"Thank you for the ride." I say kindly to him.

"Anytime. Just ask." Tyrone says sweetly to me. I hurried out of the car and ran inside to change. I punched in just as Pops came over.

"So? How'd ya do?" He asked me. I smiled and showed him my final report card. Pops smiled brightly at me.

"Congratulations!" He says cheerfully as he hands it back to me. I put it away in my bag.

"Thanks. And thank you for giving me the time off to study." I say as I put the bag behind the counter.

"Absolutely. Your education matters." He says as he pats me on the back. He made me feel proud and loved, something I liked.

"Thank you for caring. You've always been like a father to me. More than my own father has ever been." I say sweetly to him. It was true too. Every word.

"And you're like the daughter I've always wanted." He tells me.

"Better get started. Got lots of hungry teens." He points out as, when I looked over my shoulder, teens flooded the booths and seats.

"Right-io!" I say cheerfully as I quickly put my skates on. I was soon off taking orders and filling up cups. After an hour, I noticed only Tyrone was left in a booth alone. I skated over to him.

"Why all alone?" I asked him as I used a pitcher of soda to fill his glass.

"I called my aunt and decided to wait for you to get out of work. I don't mind waiting anyhow." He says with a kind smile. He's a true blue gentleman, I swear.

"That's very sweet, but I might be longer than I thought." I say as I looked around the still busy Chock'lite Shoppe.

"I still don't mind waiting. I have no where to be right away." He tells me with that same sweet smile.

"Alright. If your sure." I say as I soon apologized and hurried back to work. I had been working non stop for 3 hours straight until everything calmed down. Tyrone was waiting patiently for me, talking to Pops as well, as I cleaned up. Suddenly, Pops came right up to me.

"Why didn't you tell me you needed to go somewhere?" Pops said with a hint of worry.

"It's ok Pops, you needed help. I can head over to where I need to be later." I say as I held a tray full of dirty cups and plates. Pops suddenly took them from me.

"You go on then, I can handle it from here." He says with a kind smile.

"You sure?" I asked as I took a quick look around to make sure all would b well.

"Yes, I'm sure. You work hard enough." He tells me as his smile never faded.

"Well… Alright. I'll be here tomorrow then." I say as I untied my apron.

"Could you be here at 10?" He asked me.

"Sure thing. See you then." I say as I followed Tyrone to the car. I didn't even have time to change as we drove off.

"I can't wait to see your aunt again. She's such a nice lady." I say as I put my skates in my bag.

"She's been waiting to see you too. She felt bad she couldn't be here for the spring fashion line, but she said she had something special put aside for you." He tells me as we turned right.

"Something special?" I asked as he turned left.

"Yeah. Probably something from her new summer fashion line." He tells me as we turned right then an immediate right into a parking lot.

"Really? Why me though?" I asked softly.

"Because you're pretty, she likes you. And you're my friend." He says as he parks the car. I blushed softly.

"Well, I like being your friend. You and everyone else's. Every one of my friends is different and special to me." I say while getting out of the car.

"And that's why she likes you. You're different than other girls she works with and her usual customers." He says with a smile as I follow him into a clothing store. My eyes widen at everything going on. Clothes being rushed back and forth, models being prepped, mannequins being dressed and displayed and I saw Tyrone's aunt among the models, showing them swim suits and other summer clothes to wear. She soon spotted us and ran right over.

*Man, for a woman wearing 3 inch heels, she sure moves fast.* I thought as she hugged Tyrone. I gasped in shock as she pulled me into a big hug.

"Aria! So good to see you again!" She exclaimed happily.

"Nice to see you too." I say sweetly as I awkwardly hugged her back. Before I could utter another word I was dragged away from Tyrone and to the other models.

"Girls! This is Aria, my nephew's friend. Isn't she lovely?" She introduced me then bragged. The girls were introducing themselves as they either smiled at me or gave me a look.

"Aria, I'm so glad you're here. I have a surprise for you." She says with a smile as she pulls out a black clothing bag on a hanger. I looked at her as I took the bag.

"Tyrone told me you want me to model an outfit or two." I said as I felt a light blush appear on my cheeks.

"Even though I'm not that pretty." I say to her.

"Oh, pish posh! You're just as gorgeous as my models! Now, go put this on, then come back here." She instructed me. I decided not to argue and did as told. I got dressed and looked in the mirror. It was an outfit fit for a rock star. Thin dark blue skinny jeans with rips, a black one sleeve no sleeve tank top, strap on the left side and the top stops above my belly button but the right side flared down to my hip, the sleeve had paint splatters on it, a black thin belt with paint splatters on it as well as silver studs. I put on some biker style boots with silver studs on the 2 straps, 2 long elegant looking long gloves, that went half way up my upper arm, that were fingerless and had a long silver studs, that form a swirl, on each glove that went from the wrist to the elbow. I was impressed with the outfit, especially since this wasn't her type of style to do.

*She always knows how to make an outfit fit with the person.* I thought as I walked out. I was immediately pulled over to 2 women. They wiped my make up off and undid my low pigtails as they brushed my hair, styled it, and did my make up differently.

"Oh Aria, you look perfect!" I heard Darcy say as she examined me.

"Thanks, but um, why pick me to model?" I asked again. I felt confused.

"You're beautiful, my nephew likes you and referred you, I like you and I told you I'd have you model sometime. Also, I needed a red head for some of my outfits, and I _knew_ you'd be perfect for this style!" She exclaimed happily. I blushed dark and tried to hide my face. Darcy gave a heart filled laugh as she guided me to a picture area.

"Here we are. Just watch what the other models do and then try to copy them." She instructed me. I watched as they posed in different ways. I wasn't up for a lot of this stuff, but I decided to help out. I owed Darcy for the new dress anyhow, even if it _was_ a gift. I looked over and watched Tyrone on the side, making sure no one came in without a pass and what not. He took a quick look my way and smiled happily with a small wave. I waved back as I swore as I saw his cheeks turn pink before looking away.

"Ready to try now?" I heard Darcy ask me. I turned and looked over at her.

"Um, sure. I-I could try." I say shyly as I went over. I saw there was a white bench, an option to sit on and what not, as I tried to remember what the models did.

"Just relax and act natural." Darcy tells me.

*If I was acting natural, I'd be working or on my...* I thought as I had an idea.

"Miss Darcy, could I use props?" I asked her suddenly, as I remembered I remembered my hover board.

"Well sure, if it helps you out." She says to me in a slightly unsure tone but a kind smile. I went into the back and grabbed my board before coming back. I stood on it.

"I'm ready." I say as I turned it on. It soon hovered off the ground and felt myself relax. I imagined doing a trick and leaned down, like I was landing. I had heard oohs and ahs as the camera started flashing. I jumped and grabbed the board, making it look like I was jumping over something. I had the board on its nose as I stood on the tail with my tippy toes. I then moved to keep it there but stood on one hand and leaned back so it showed me sideways and opposite of where my scar was, just in case it tried to show itself. I soon turned it off and sat on the bench, slightly leaning on the propped up board, looking relaxed and natural.

"Ok! Lets get ready for the next one!" Darcy announced as I got up. I went to where I was needed as the next girl went up next. I put on a new rock punk outfit, mostly black with 3 shades of purple, black leather jacket and pants and then went to get make up on. I then felt my hair get flipped around and then allowed to see myself in the mirror. I gasped at my look. My hair looked different! I realized it was a wig, at least I hoped it was, as it looked like my hair was shaved on one side with a few stripes and a star, and the rest cut short with a Mohawk.

"Oh my! I hope this is a wig." I say as I was pushed to the picture area.

"Don't worry, it is. I wouldn't _dare_ have your hair cut without your permission." She tells me as she handed me an electric guitar. It was a fake plastic one though, but it looked cool.

"Your prop idea was inspiring. Can you do it again?" Darcy asked me happily.

"Sure thing." I say as I use it to look like I was rocking out. I then posed with it next to me and other poses. This went on for a while and different outfits, mostly rock outfits but a few gowns and skirt styles for the rocker area, before I sighed happily. I had tried on 7 outfits total! It didn't seem like much, but with the poses, pictures, hair and make up, it took a long while. I was then told to wear swim suits. Uh oh. I was pushed in the dressing room and tried on a two piece. I frowned at it. It was lovely, black with a white skull on each bra cup and a black tie on skirt with while bones on it and gold coins on it to give it a pirate look, but there was a problem…

my scar.

"Aria? Do you need help?" I heard Darcy asked.

"Um… Well… I… I can't come out." I said as I felt very self conscious again.

"What's wrong sweetie?" She asked from the other side.

"I… I just… I can't come out." I said as I tried to look for a shirt to toss on.

"I'm coming in." She tells me before entering.

"Now what's-oh." She started saying before seeing my scar. I looked away from her.

"I see… Well, I can fix this." She says and calls in another model. The model came in with a swim suit like mine but with swim shorts, no skirt, a gold coin cross belt and a thicker top.

"What's up?" The model asked as I got a good look at her. She was a girl, taller than me, with platinum blonde hair, a nice tan, bigger breasts and a better figure.

*She looks like a goddess.* I thought as I felt more self conscious.

"Sophie, please switch tops with Aria." She tells her before walking out. Sophie didn't argue and took her top off. I looked away as I took mine off.

"You're scar seems old." Sophie told me as she handed me the top and took the one from me.

"I've had it for years." I comment shyly.

"Do not feel shame, it shows you are very strong." She suddenly told me. We finished dressing and the top, though a tad baggy, covered my scar 100%.

"I just hate it. Bad memories." I explained as we stepped out.

"Perfect! This looks _much_ better anyhow!" Darcy said happily as she used a clip to tighten the top. We were soon having hair and make up done.

"It is easier to try and learn from the past and use the bad memories to remember the good ones we have." She told me as small parts of our hair were braided or had pearls and shells weaved into it.

"Yeah, you're right." I said as we had out make up done. We were soon put out to model the suits. After a bit, it was over. I smiled happily as I was given my clothes back. I stepped out and wondered about my hair.

*I love how it looks though.* I thought as I felt sad it had to be taken out.

"Oh Aria! Before you go, I have to thank you! You did more than I intended, so I wanted to pay you." Darcy tells me quickly.

"What? Oh gosh no! I don't want to be paid!" I exclaimed in pure shock.

"Oh nonsense! I can't pay you money, but I _can_ give you all the outfits you tried on as a _huge_ thank you!" She exclaimed happily. I swear, my jaw hit the floor.

"Wha- but- I- um-" I stammered out in shock. I heard Tyrone laugh lightly as he held the bags.

"Once my aunt has an idea, it's impossible to refuse." He chuckled out.

"Exactly." Darcy said happily.

"Um… Thank you? I'm just..." I started as I felt shocked and awkward as well.

"Completely surprised! I knew you would be! I'm even letting you keep the accessories in your hair!" She added as Tyrone grabbed my board for me.

"Thank you so much!" I exclaimed as I hugged her. She hugged me back.

"Of course! You always have a place in my business if you ever want to model!" She exclaimed happily.

"So? What'll happen to the pictures?" I asked her.

"Oh, right. I need you to sign this waver, giving us permission to go public with the pictures, for legal reasons." She tells me as her assistant came over with the waver. I looked it over, just to be sure, and then signed it.

"There we go." I say to her.

"Perfect! Your picture will be in magazines and will be enlarged in the store as posters to go with the clothes!" She said as I saw them printing the large pictures and setting them up right away.

"I've… never had that happen before." I said softly.

"You're very beautiful, kind and humble. If you ever want a modeling job, I'll hire you on the spot!" Darcy said happily as Tyrone came over.

"Now I have a famous friend." Tyrone chuckled.

"This… Was a bit fun. It's not really my thing, fashion and all, but I'll consider it." I say honestly.

"I understand. Thank you so much Aria." She thanked me. We said our goodbyes as we headed out the door. The magazines would be issued tomorrow from what I heard.

"Gee, I hope I don't get _too_ much attention." I say softly to Tyrone as he started driving me home.

"Need a body guard?" He asked me suddenly.

"No… I don't think I'll need one." I say as I didn't know if he was joking or serious.

"Well, call if you get into a bind." He tells me. I smiled at him sweetly.

"Tyrone, you're such a sweetheart. You're like the brother I never had." I say to him.

"Oh… A brother?" He suddenly asked, as he seemed to be down hearted.

"Tyrone? Did I offend you?" I asked suddenly with worry.

"Oh… No… Um, well… Is… Is it bad that…. I still have a crush on you?" He suddenly sputtered out with a blush.

"Oh? But… Oh Tyrone. I'm sorry. I..." I started saying but Tyrone put his hand on mine to stop me.

"I know. I'll hopefully get over it, but I do appreciate that you see me as a brother." He said softly as he stopped at a red light. I turned and smiled at him.

"Thank you for understanding." I said softly but sweetly. He let my hand go as he nodded. We had a quiet drive to my house, as I saw my uncle's car and Archie's in the drive way.

"Hey, uncle Fred's home a day early!" I exclaimed happily. Tyrone parked and helped me with my stuff.

"Would you like some help inside?" He asked me as I took the bags.

"No, I got it. Thank you for taking me home." I said sweetly.

"Anytime. So… Could we… Hang sometime?" Tyrone asked me a bit shyly.

*I think he feels awkward now.* I thought to myself.

"Sure. I'd love to." I say sweetly to him. He smiled brightly at me.

"Great! Just let me know when." He tells me as he headed in the car.

"Will do! Drive safe!" I say as he waves goodbye before slipping in his car and drives off. I saw his car turn the corner and disappear. I carried everything inside, smiling happily.

"I'm home!" I called out happily as I used my foot to close the door. Archie soon bolted in here.

"Aria!" Archie exclaimed.

"Hey Ar-mmmm." I started saying, but his hand covered my mouth.

"Shh. Quiet. Go up to your room, quick." He whispers to me. I put my stuff down and removed his hand.

"What? Why?" I asked him with a hint of worry.

"Because, your-" He started saying but then a voice cut him off.

"Hello Aria." I heard a deep voice say. I tensed up as I heard that familiar voice.

"What's wrong? Won't you greet me and give me a hug?" A heard him say in a slight mocking tone.

"D-dad?" I gasped out in shock and fear. Yes, my father. My father was here!

*If dad's here, then… Mom.* I thought worriedly. My father was leaning against the kitchen door frame, staring at Archie and myself.

"Did you go out shopping? Wasting my brothers cash on yourself?" I heard him ask in a hissed tone, almost as if he wanted me in trouble.

"N-no. I… um… They were gifts." I stuttered out. I saw my father give a sly grin.

"My my, still a liar as always." He says in a slight sing song tone.

"Now now, I doubt she's lying." I heard Uncle Fred say as he came out. Uncle Fred saw the bags before looking at me.

"I'm not… Tyrone's aunt gave them to me." I said to them as I picked up the bags.

"A boy?!" My father screeched out. I flinched as Uncle Fred grabbed his shoulder.

"It's ok, I trust her and I know Tyrone. He and his parents are kind, trustworthy people. Tyrone's been a good friend of hers since she started school." He assured, but my father wasn't up for it.

"I doubt it! I bet she's-" My father started scolding, but I stepped in.

"Nothing like that happened dad! I'll explain in a moment!" I say boldly to him as I brought the bags in the kitchen. I was right. Mom was in there with Aunt Mary. Mom gave me a glare, her eyes seemed to be filled with hate, as Aunt Mary watched me with worry.

"You look nice. Who did your hair?" Aunt Mary asked me as dad, Uncle Fred and Archie came in.

"Tyrone's aunt. Miss Darcy had me model some clothes and gave me the outfits in return." I say happily.

"You're such a little liar. You probably stole them." My mom said rudely.

"No, it's true! Miss Darcy needed a red head and Tyrone referred me. She agreed since she liked me, but she couldn't pay me money. That's why I have the clothes. I signed a waver so my pictures could be displayed in the store and published in the magazines by tomorrow." I tell all of them. My parents scoffed, not believing me as usual.

"That's so nice of them!" Aunt Mary said happily.

"I can't believe Pops let you leave early." Archie commented.

"Yeah, it was a reward for my finals." I said with a big smile.

"That reminds me, what did you get?" Uncle Fred asked me curiously.

"Two B's and the rest are A's!" I exclaimed as I gave him my report card. Uncle Fred looked it over, then smiled brightly.

"I'm very proud of you! But, why two B's? You had A's last time." Uncle Fred asked so suddenly.

"Well, Gym class, being absent a few times too many, and I was only one answer off on my French exam, that's why I got the B." I explained to them.

"You probably cheated again." My mother rudely commented.

"No! Aria studies almost every night and works very hard to keep her grades up!" Aunt Mary said so suddenly, immediately defending me. It shocked my mom, to the point of silence, but not my father.

"She's never been that smart, so how is she doing well?" He asked them.

"She's always been smart. She is amazing! She's smart, studies to keep up, and even works as a waitress and babysits to earn money. Aria is one of the most responsible teenagers in Riverdale!" Archie defended instantly.

"Quiet! You don't know anything!" My dad scolded him.

"He's right. She's been a lot of help around here. She does chores, earns her own money to use, she's been nothing but a delight around here. Maybe if you stopped and spend time with her, one on one, you'd see that instead of being rude and cold!" Uncle Fred snapped.

"Archie, you and Aria go upstairs." Aunt Mary said to us, mostly to him. We didn't argue as we took my stuff to my room. Allegro was whimpering on my bed until he saw me. I set my stuff down and went to him.

"Hey there bud." I say as I pet him. Archie came over with a worried look.

"You gonna be ok? They just… Showed up. They said it was a surprise." Archie said, knowing how I felt about my parents.

"It's ok… I'll just… Avoid them as much as I can." I said softly before going to my bags.

"Did you _really_ model?" Archie asked me as he pets Allegro.

"Yeah, you'll see the magazine tomorrow. I'm getting an exclusive sent here with the morning paper." I say as I hung my clothes up. Archie came over and looked at my clothes.

"Definitely your style." Archie commented on them as I smiled at them.

"She designed them specifically for my style. Miss Darcy is so kind." I say as I looked in my closet.

"Guess I'm starting to run out of room." I commented as I saw my closet was almost full.

"Guess you need to get rid of things, or get a bigger closet." He commented with a chuckle.

"Too bad, I like my clothes. Maybe I'll stop buying them unless needed." I say as I looked at all of them.

"Or pack away the really nice ones until I need them." I add as I admired the red dress Aunt Mary gave me for my 1st Valentine's day in Riverdale.

"You could do that." Archie said to me.

"Hey, I am going to investigate a mystery tomorrow. Wanna help me?" He asked suddenly, knowing now I needed to get out as much as possible.

"Mmm, maybe. I might have to watch the twins tomorrow." I comment before I heard a knock. Before I could answer, the door opened to reveal my mother.

"So this is where you sleep huh? Such a spoiled brat." She commented as she looked around. Archie glared at her, but kept quiet. Allegro growled at her though, and she stepped back.

"Flea bitten mutt." She muttered as she turned to me. She went right to my closet and pulled out my black top with the slash marks from the werewolf incident. It still had the purple glitter fabric inside to make it look a bit better.

"What happened to this ugly thing?" She commented rudely.

"Werewolf slashed it." I said as I went to take it from her.

"Werewolf?! Ha! Such a little liar!" She said as she started ripping it. Archie snatched it from her.

"That's hers! Don't rip it up! Haven't you done that enough to her old clothes! And she's not lying! We have proof and I got the whole story down in my weird mysteries column!" Archie scolded very loudly to her as Allegro got up and started snarling at her. Mom shrunk away to the door.

"KEEP THAT MUTT AWAY FROM ME!" She screamed in fear as she played victim.

"HE WOULDN'T BE GROWLING IF YOU WERE NICER! STOP TRYING TO RUIN MY STUFF AND STAY OUT OF MY ROOM! YOU'VE RUINED MY LIFE ENOUGH!" I screamed before shoving her out and shutting my door on her. I soon locked it as I heard foot steps stomping up the stairs and too my room. Dad started pounding on the door, Allegro barked to try and get him to stop, then Uncle Fred stormed up and started yelling at him. It went on for a while before they finally went downstairs and stopped. I teared up. Nothing would change with them.

"Archie… I hate them." I said quietly to him.

"You don't mean that." Archie says to me.

"No, I do. They obviously hate me, so why can't I hate them? They don't want me. I'm tired of trying to love them when it gets nowhere." I say softly to him as tears well up.

"Aria-" He started saying but I stopped him.

"I need to go to bed. Please… Just leave me alone." I say as I kept looking away. Archie put my shirt on my desk and sighed.

"Ok. If you need me… I'm here." He says and leaves, making sure to lock my door behind him. Once he did, I broke down into tears and laid, face down, on my bed sobbing. Allegro laid with me before I soon fell asleep, with tear filled eyes, wet cheeks, and an empty sick feeling in my stomach.


	53. Chapter 52

**I forgot to wish everyone a happy new year. Also, I hope this is an ok chapter. I, literally, could not think of a name for the chapter, so the name is a bit dumb. Other than that, enjoy. If you have any suggestions, feel free to message me any ideas or suggestions you have for the story. It** ** _is_** **almost over, but ideas are accepted and will be read before deciding. I** ** _WILL_** **credit you on it. Also, there is one scene I took the idea from a MLP fan made clip with Button Mash.**

Chapter 52: Feeling Trapped Then Darkness!

*Aria's POV*

It has been two days since my parents arrived in Riverdale. It's been awful! I had to lock my door, keep Allegro on a leash at all times, since my parents try to hurt him and vice versa, I hear my parents bickering to each other or yell at me for no reason, they purposefully praise Archie on chores, even the ones he messes up on, and all that junk. They don't know about Jughead and Dilton, thank goodness, but still say all my friends are fake. I even stopped my mother for trying to take/break my stuff. Today was different.

Why?

Lets start at a few minutes before it happened. I was carrying laundry downstairs, Archie's I might add, and saw him in the kitchen.

"Archie, I carried your clothes down, but you need to do them. I already did mine and I'm _not even touching_ your nasty drawers." I comment as I headed to the laundry room.

"They're not _that_ bad." He comments from the kitchen, on his laptop doing who knows what.

"Not risking it!" I called out as I put the hamper down.

"I'll do dishes if you do my laundry!" He calls out from the kitchen.

"You have to do them anyway! I did them 3 times!" I called out as I looked outside. It looked like a nice day for swimming.

"But I need to work on the car today!" He calls back as I enter.

"Too bad. I have stuff to do too." I say as I opened the fridge.

"Like what?" He asks me.

"I have to babysit Luke and Duke today." I say as I took out some juice.

"Seriously? I thought Betty was doing that?" Archie asked me. I pulled out a glass, unaware my mother entered.

"I'm doing Betty a favor. Remember? She and her dad are picking up her big brother Charlie." I informed him as I poured the juice.

"Oh yeah. Betty mentioned he lives in the city. Maybe you two met?" He asked. I laughed but then spilled juice.

"Oh shoot. Archie.~ You made me laugh too hard." I said in a playful whining tone as he laughed a bit too. I didn't get any on me, but reached for the sponge.

"Don't blame your sweet cousin on your clumsiness!" I suddenly heard my mother scold me. I tensed but tried to ignore her.

"It's ok. It was an accident, and a joke." Archie tried to defend me.

"No, it's not alright! Blaming others and being lazy! Typical! There are dishes in the sink and laundry to do! Why aren't you doing them?" She scolds me. I cleaned up my mess and looked at her.

"Because it's Archie's clothes, so it's his responsibility, and his turn to do dishes." I say calmly, though my blood was starting to boil, before drinking some juice.

"Are you talking back to me?" I heard her ask in a strict tone.

"You asked a question, I answered it." I said coldly to her.

"It's your job to do these chores! You're privileged to live here, yet you take it for granted! You make a mess, you waste food, and make your cousin do chores a woman is supposed to do!" She scolded me. I glared an icy stare at her.

"Men can do these chores too. I take nothing for granted, spilling a bit of juice was an accident, and you do nothing anyhow. Dad did laundry with me while you did nothing." I mentioned before drinking more juice.

'SMACK!'

My mother had come over and smacked me across the face as soon as I stopped drinking. I dropped the glass, remaining juice spilling and glass braking, as I held my cheek. I teared up, since this is the 1st time either parent hit me upon arriving, and felt it start to sting and burn.

"Don't you _dare_ sass me young lady! Now you made a bigger mess!" She scolds as her voice raised. I heard running.

"What happened?! I heard something-" I heard my aunt say before stopping. Before I could blink, Aunt Mary pulled my mother away from me as Archie grabbed a broom.

"Don't you hit her!" My aunt yelled at her.

"She's _my_ daughter! If I want to punish her, then I will anyway I see fit!" My mom yelled out in anger.

"Whatever she did or didn't do doesn't give you the right to hit her. Especially in my home." Aunt Mary spoke calmly but firmly to mom. Archie came over.

"You ok?" He asked softly.

"Yeah..." I lied in a soft tone. Archie looked at me, knowing I was lying, but didn't call me out on it.

"Don't you dare think you're better at raising children than me!" Mom yelled out as she looked like she was turning red.

"I'm not saying that, but I don't allow violence in my home." She scolds mom.

"I-I'll clean it up." I said softly as I reached for the broom. Aunt Mary looked my way, knowing all the work they did to keep me happy, to feel free and loved, was starting to go in reverse quickly. We then heard the phone ringing.

"No. No, it's ok sweetie. You go answer the phone." She tells me.

"I'll clean it up. It's ok." Archie added.

"O-ok." I say and quickly headed to the living room to answer the phone.

"She needs to clean up her mess!" I heard my mom yell out in anger. I didn't hear much else as I answered the phone.

"Andrews residence, Aria speaking." I answered quietly yet politely.

"Hey Aria, it's Pops. Could I ask you a favor?" I heard Pops on the other end. I wiped up my tears that were starting to fall.

"Sure. Anything to help." I say with a small smile.

"Do ya think you could come in today? At least for an hour? I have to go to the post office and pick up a package from my sister and I won't have time to get it after work, with the summer hours and all." He tells me.

"Oh.. Um, well… I have to babysit." I say as I felt bad. Then an Idea came into mind.

"Would you mind If I brought the twins over with me? They could sit in a both and I'll buy them food while I work." I offered to him.

"Well sure, if you can handle it. I don't mind more hungry customers." He says happily over the phone.

"Thanks Pops. When do you need me over?" I asked him.

"In an hour or two if you can." He says sweetly to me.

"Don't worry about the uniform. Just toss on an apron and you'll be fine." He tells me.

"Ok. See you soon." I say as I hung up. I ran to my room and grabbed my bag, my skates, and my board before petting Allegro. He stays in my room, as miserable as he was, to keep him safe.

"I'll be back boy. Want a treat when I get back?" I asked him. Sometimes, I felt like he was a person. His ears perked up as he rose his head. He looked at me and nodded as his tail wagged super fast. I giggled and rubbed his head.

"Be a good boy for me." I say before I walk downstairs.

"Aunt Mary, I'm heading to the Donavon home to babysit!" I call out just as I saw my mother storm past me and into the living room. Uncle Fred and my dad weren't here, so this was tense for Aunt Mary and Archie, not too tense but enough. Aunt Mary came out with a pleasant smile.

"Ok sweetie. You be a good role model and tell Mrs. Donavon that I hope to see her this weekend for our girls night." Aunt Mary tells me happily, as she never let on how stressed or worried she was about everything right now.

"I will." I say as I gently hugged her.

"Thank you." I whispered in her ear before pulling away and heading out.

"If you need a ride, call me or Fred!" She calls out the front door.

"I will!" I yell back as I ran down the side walk. Once I ran down a few blocks, I turned my board on. I loved my hover board. I hoped on and started riding it down to the Donavon's. I had many people waving at me, and me waving back, as I rode. The magazine was published and I had middle and high schoolers ask for my autograph and seemed to be noticed even more in this town. Aunt Mary and Uncle Fred even preserved a magazine in plastic and bought a second to frame all the pictures with me in them. I felt a bit embarrassed, but they had praised me, while my parents scolded me and teased me harshly on it. Uncle Fred got them to stop. I swear, my parents only came here to make my summer hell. I stopped when I saw Veronica reading a magazine on a bench and went to her.

"Hey Ronnie, haven't seen you in a while." I said as I turned my board off and carried it while walking to her. She suddenly jumped up.

" _How_ did you do it?!" Veronica suddenly exclaimed in shock. I tilted my head in confusion.

"How did I do what?" I asked her. She then put the magazine in my face. The page she was on was swim wear, where I was with Sophie.

"Oh,~ That.~ Well, I met Miss Darcy once, the day before Halloween, which is how I got that black lace dress, and she loved how I looked in it. She needed a red head and also liked how I'm different. So, since she's trying out new clothing idea's and reaching out to different genre's, she asked me to help out. I said yes, and every outfit I modeled, I kept." I explained to her.

"But _how_ did you meet her?" She asked as she was still shocked and antsy.

"Well, she came to the Chock'lite Shoppe and accidentally spilled food on me." I say to her like it's no big deal.

"But… Why there?" She asked me.

"Because she was there with her nephew. Oh shoot! I need to go! Sorry Ronnie." I say as I turned the board on.

"Who's her nephew? And could you autograph this for me?" She asked as she pulled out her favorite pen. She only used that pen on special occasions. I smiled at her as I signed my name.

"Don't tell or get clingy, but it's Tyrone. Gotta go. See ya." I say as I gave her back the pen, hopped on the board, then zoomed off to the house. I hopped off the board, turned it off, then rang the bell. Mrs. Donavon answered the door with a smile.

"Thank you so much Aria. When Betty said she was gone for the day, I nearly panicked." She said as she let me in. She then walked to the kitchen, while putting earrings on, to grab her purse.

"Anytime Ma'am. I'm always happy to help, and I adore the boys." I say with a smile as I took my helmet off.

"They've been asking for you, and if I didn't have an emergency at the office, then I'd spend time with them. I'm just glad you showed up when you did." She said happily before turning to me.

"I get it. Work is work, and providing for your family is important as well." I say in an understanding tone. She then came over to me.

"What happened to your cheek?" She asked me suddenly. I felt it and winced, it still burned and stung a bit.

"Oh… Um..." I didn't know how to answer that one. She eyed me, like a mother would to her kids who try to lie or make up an excuse but didn't believe them.

"My parents are in town." I sighed out as I looked away. She'd seen my flashbacks from the orb back in the hospital, so she knew what they were like.

"Which one did this?" She asked me suddenly.

"...My mom." I said in a hushed tone.

"Oh.~ Are… Are you safe where you are?" She asked me quietly, so there was no chance the boys would hear. They knew too, but we still tried not to let them worry.

"Yes ma'am. This was… The first time since they arrived a few days ago." I assured her, but she still looked worried. She went to the fridge and grabbed an ice pack for me.

"If you're sure, but if you need help with anything let my husband or myself know alright?" She said as she put the pack on my cheek. I smiled softly at her.

"I will." I say kindly to her.

*It's so hard to believe everyone in this town is so nice… Well… Almost everyone.* I thought as I tried not to think of Vinnie Wells.

"Aria!" I heard two voices call out before I got tackled. I yelped and barely caught myself as I looked down at the terror twins. Actually, they weren't terrors that much.

"Hey you two!" I said cheerfully as I hugged them back. They were super cute.

"Aria, did you get hurt?" I heard the sweet Luke ask me. I then remembered the ice pack.

"Oh.. I fell doing a trick on my skates. Good thing I wore a helmet though." I lied with a half fake smile.

"You sure? It looks like a hand print." The rascal Duke asked, as he saw the mark after I moved the ice pack.

"Naw, it's all good. It was the way I fell, that's all." I lied as I set the pack down.

"You two ready to have fun?" I asked them happily.

"Yeah!" They both yelled out happily.

"Well, I'm off boys. Could I get a hug?" She asked them. They both ran over and hugged her.

"Bye mama." Luke said sweetly.

"Have an awesome day." Duke added as both boys gave her a kiss on each cheek. They changed a whole lot since that night. Almost one whole year actually. The boys were almost 10 now. Mrs. Donavon smiled and kissed them both before standing up.

"I will, and you boys behave." She said then headed out. I smiled from all of this as the boys came over.

"Hey boys, I have to cover a shift for an hour, but I can bring you two with me. So, how does lunch at the Chock'lite Shoppe sound?" I asked them sweetly. They smiled brightly and started bouncing around.

"Yeah yeah yeah! Burgers and shakes!" They cheered happily. I smiled and chuckled at their enthusiasm.

"Go get shoes on, we'll go together." I say. They darted out so fast, I thought they would leave a fire track on the floor. I went to the front door, where they stood ready to go, and left with them, carrying the spare house key with me.

"So? You boys excited for summer vacation?" I asked them happily.

"Yeah!" Duke shouted happily.

"We get to play, see you more, and no homework!" Luke shouted immediately after as the boys ran ahead.

"Remember to stop at the corner! And don't cross the street without me!" I called out as I took my time. They did as told and I smiled at that. After a while, we showed up at Pop Tate's. He saw me and rushed over.

"Thanks for coming Aria. I'll only be gone an hour." He tells me as he hands me an apron. I then thought about it.

"Pops… How am I going to make your burgers without your recipe?" I asked as it just hit me.

"Oh, no worries. I have pre made beef put aside for you." He tells me before rubbing the boys heads and walking out.

*Darn… Oh well, I'll discover his secret next time.* I thought as I put the boys on the stools in front of the bar area.

"What'll it be boys?" I asked them as I tied the apron on from behind the counter.

"Cheese burgers!" They cheer happily. I chuckled.

"2 cheese burgers, coming right up!" I say with a huge smile.

"Stay here ok." I instructed. They nodded as I went into the back and cooked. I came out and gave them their burgers.

"What kind of shakes?" I asked as I got everything ready.

"Chocolate/Mint!" They both cheered, picking a different flavor.

I smiled.

"Ok ok. One chocolate and one Mint." I said as I started making them. Once done, I gave it to them and started cleaning. I heard the door chime and looked up with a smile, but soon frowned at the sight. Vinnie Wells.

*Not good… Definitely not good at all.* I thought as he saw he. He smirked and strolled over.

"Hey Babe. Where's the cute uniform? And the old man?" He asked in a tone he considered flirting. I rolled my eyes in annoyance.

"What do you want?" I asked in an irritated tone. The twins heard that and quietly looked over.

"I came in for some nachos, but I'll take you instead." He says with a sleazy smile and a wink.

I shuttered.

"Do you _plan_ to _pay_ for the nachos?" I asked as I tried to ignore him.

"I could pay in o-" He started saying, but I covered his mouth.

"There are children present! And no money, no service! No loitering either!" I scolded as I started turning red.

"So?~ Am I getting those nachos?" He asked in an 'I'm not doing anything wrong' tone. My blood was boiling, but I stayed calm.

"Only if you pay." I tell him as I crossed my arms. He huffed in annoyance. He then pulled out some cash and gave it to me. I took it as I kept glaring at him.

"Coming up." I said in an icy tone as I quickly got his food ready. The sooner he ate, the sooner he'd, hopefully, leave.

*Worse enough I have to deal with my parents. I don't need Vinnie around too.* I thought bitterly. He had kept his distance for a couple months actually. I'd find a note from him or something stupid like that. He only walked by me a few times too, and showed up while I worked but never sat in my section.

Until now.

*I hope Pops gets back soon.* I thought to myself.

"Hey!~" I heard Luke whine out. I took a peak over my shoulder, thinking Duke was taking Luke's fries or messing with him, and saw Vinnie had taken his food. My eyes narrowed as he started eating the fries. I snatched it away and gave it to Luke.

"Don't take his food!" I scold him, but he just leaned on the counter with a smile.

"But I was hungry." He said in an 'isn't it obvious' tone. I put his nachos in front of him.

"Here." I say coldly to him.

"So? Who're the brats?" He asked as he pulled out a cheese covered chip and began eating.

I rolled my eyes.

"I'm not a brat… Am I Aria?" Luke asked as he felt hurt. Duke had his arms crossed over his chest with a pout on his face. I ruffled both of their hair covered heads.

"No, of course not. Vinnie's a bully and a stupid jerk, that's all." I say sweetly to them.

"Pfft. I call them as I see them, and they're brats who should be in a cage." Vinnie said rudely. I glared at him.

"Knock it off, or I'll kick you out." I warn him.

"Don't test my patients babe." He tells me.

"Then don't test mine." I tell him. He gave me a snarl but then smirked. I could tell he was thinking of something.

"Heh. Looks like someone already punished you for me. What's the matter? Been a bad girl?" He asked in a teasing tone as he started eating more of his food. My blood was like lava at this point.

"No! She fell off her board! Now leave her alone!" Duke yelled.

"Shut it brat!" He yelled.

"Vinnie! Shut up and behave or you're out!" I yelled out in anger. The twins were shocked at hearing me yell like that, but Vinnie got mad. He leaned over the counter, grabbed my left arm, and yanked me close to him.

"You want me to hit you?" He hissed through his teeth.

"Do it! Do it and I'll have you arrested!" I say with malice. He was going to say something but yelped and let me go. I looked and saw the twins start hitting him.

"Leave her alone!" Luke yelled as he teared up. He hated violence.

"Yeah you big jerk!" Duke yelled as his hits seemed to be harder. Vinnie shoved them to the floor before standing. I didn't notice an adult walk in.

"You two are cruisin' for a bruisin'!" He said in rage, face turning red, as he got ready to hit. My instincts came in and, before I could think, I jumped over the counter and onto his back, putting him in the sleeper hold. Ronin had taught me and Midge this a while back.

"You leave them alone right now!" I yelled at him. He started struggling as the twins hid behind the counter. Soon, Vinnie fell to his knees and I let him go. I pant as he fell over.

"Boys. You ok?" I pant out as I kept my eyes on Vinnie. He was out cold for now, but I wasn't sure for how long.

"We're ok." Luke called out.

"Mind if I ask what's going on?" I suddenly heard. I froze as I looked up to see the Sheriff. AKA Mr. Were-cop. I didn't know what to say or do at this point. Luke and Duke immediately got in front of me.

"Don't arrest her!" Luke cried out worriedly.

"Yeah. Mr. Jerk was going to hurt us!" Duke added after. The Sheriff only smiled and shook his head as he chuckled.

"Well, I saw that part. I just need to know what he did." He says kindly. I sighed and smiled softly as I told him everything. As soon as Vinnie woke up, the sheriff had him by his arm.

"Up to you Miss Andrews. Do you want to file for harassment?" He asked me. I was going to say yes, when an elderly lady came in.

"Excuse me. I'm looking for-Vincent! There you are!" She had asked in a kind yet worried tone but then saw Vinnie and beamed happily.

"You had me worried sick. What's going on?" She said but then noticed the situation and asked worriedly. Vinnie looked away with a grumpy face as a thought hit me.

*His grandmother.* I thought as she looked very concerned.

"Are you in trouble again?" She asked as she held her heart with worry. I felt guilty. I hated Vinnie, but his grandmother didn't need to suffer more than needed. The sheriff looked at her with sad eyes.

"Well ma'am, he-" The sheriff started saying, but I stepped in.

"He tripped and the Sheriff was helping him up." I said so suddenly.

The Sheriff and Vinnie looked back at me with shock. Heck, even _I_ was shocked at what I said. I made a slight head gesture to let Vinnie go. I'd deal with it later.

"Um.. Yes. Yes, I was helping the boy up." The sheriff said and let him go. Vinnie moved away and brushed off his arm.

"Oh, well that's very nice of you. Say thank you to the nice man Vincent." She said sweetly to him. He grumbled out a thank you.

"Did you get your nachos?" She asked Vinnie with sweetness. I immediately packed them up and a to go cup of water as well. I went over to them as Vinnie didn't know what to say.

"Yes, and he ordered them to go, along with some water for you, so he could enjoy them at the park with you ma'am." I say sweetly as I pushed the bag in his hands and kindly gave her the water.

"Oh my! How wonderful! It'll be a pleasant day indeed!" She said happily. Vinnie was trying to argue but his grandma grabbed his hand. The old lady was short, about to Vinnie's chest, and slightly hunched over to seem shorter. She had white hair in short curls like Annie and wore an outfit almost like Miss Grundy's but in a pastel green and a sweater instead of a blazer.

"Thank you for helping Vincent, and thank you for your service miss.. Oh dear, I don't know who you are. My memory seems to be fading." She said as she thought she forgot me. I chuckled.

"No Ma'am. You're memory is fine to me, but we never properly met. My name's Aria Andrews. I go to school with Vinnie." I say sweetly to her.

"Oh my, you're Aria. The nice girl who flirts and compliments my son everyday." She said sweetly with a bright smile. My eye twitched when she said that.

*He's definitely been telling lies.* I thought sourly.

"Um, sorry ma'am. I… I just say nice things to him, not flirt. I already have a boyfriend...s." I said as I muttered the last part.

"Oh dear. I'm so sorry for the embarrassment. My grandson must've been mistaken. Now, come along Vincent. You can play with your friends another day." She said sweetly and started pulling him out the door.

"Aw grams!~" He whined and muttered, but she heard nothing as she pulled him out the door and down the street. I just stood there watching in silence.

"He didn't deserve that." The sheriff said suddenly.

"I didn't do it for him." I said softly.

"I understand. I could still file the report in case he tries again." He said kindly as I turned and went to the counter.

"Sure. Maybe, doing something nice instead of the fighting, will maybe encourage him to do good. Spending time with his grandmother might help as well." I say as I wiped the counter down. The twins listened as they sat down.

"Maybe, but Vinnie Wells is a rotten egg. He might never change." Sheriff said as he sat down.

"He might be rotten, but there's still a small amount of room to change." I said as I got him his coffee. Sheriff smiled as he added in his cream and sugar.

"Yes, that's true, but I'm afraid he'll never change." He said before sipping his coffee.

"Yeah, but still. Gotta set a good example." I say softly as I pointed my thumb at the twins, who were now eating.

"Milkshake race! 1 2 3 go!" Duke yelled before he and Luke started drinking their milkshakes fast.

"Babysitting too?" He asked me.

"Yeah. Pops will be back shortly." I say with a smile.

"Anything I could get ya?" I asked him.

"A burger sounds nice." He said with a smile before taking another sip of his coffee.

"Raw I take it?" I asked jokingly. Sheriff choked on his coffee before chuckling.

"No no. Not this time. Medium rare works better." He said as he wiped his mouth with a napkin.

"GAAAHHHHH!" We heard. I looked over and saw Duke holding his head before falling on the ground.

"Gaaahhh! Aaahhh! It hurts! It Hurts! Ahhhaaa haaa! Aaaahh!" Duke cried out as he rolled around holding his head, while Luke just sipped his milkshake and ignored his brother. Duke had finally calmed down and just laid on his side.

"Oh, hey a quarter!" Duke exclaimed happily, as he took the quarter and then hopped up on the chair happily. I giggled as I tried not to roll my eyes.

"Always an adventure with them." I say before heading into the back to cook the burger. I heard sheriff chuckling as I prepared his food. I brought it out to him and smiled happily. As soon as I did, Pops came in.

"Well, hey Sheriff. Lunch break already?" Pops asked as he came behind the counter.

"Yes, and about time too. I've had a busy morning." He commented before biting into his burger.

"Any problems?" Pops asked me. "A small one, but nothing that couldn't be handled." I say to him.

"Well, ok. Thanks for covering for me." Pops said happily. I saw the boys were done, so I went over and wiped their faces, picked up their dished, holding it all with one hand, and used the other to hold a wet rag to clean the counter with.

"Anytime. I never mind helping out." I say sweetly as I head into the back. I put these in the sink with water and soap and started washing them. Pops came in the back.

"You ok? The Sheriff told me Vinnie was here." He said in a low tone.

"Did he tell you what happened?" I asked in a hushed tone.

"Yeah. Did he hit you?" He asked as he pointed to my cheek. I looked away.

"No… My parents are here." I said quietly. That was all it took.

"I could tell the Sheriff." He suggested. I shook my head no.

"Not much to do really. I just need to avoid them." I said softly as I finished the dishes.

"Well, if you need more hours just to get out of the house, just tell me. I'll make a schedule for you, and if you need a day off, just let me know." He says kindly as he rested a hand on y shoulder. I looked at him and nod with a smile.

"Thanks Pops." I say kindly to him.

"Now, why don't you go take the boys out somewhere. I can handle it from here." He says as we walk to the front. I hung the apron up and smiled.

"Thanks." I say with a smile.

"You boys ready?" I asked as they had started running around. They stopped at the front door with big smiles.

"Yeah!" They both said simultaneously. I head over with a smile.

"Bye Pops!" I say and wave.

"Bye Sheriff!" I added as I opened the door.

"Bye!" The twins yelled and took off. I heard the two say bye as I rushed off after the boys.

*Sheriff's POV*

As soon as Miss Andrews left, Pops started speaking.

"Her parents are in town." He said with sadness and worry. I remember reading the medical reports and the weird mystery article. I even talked to Pops to make sure it was true. He confirmed it.

"I can't do much without a call." I say sadly to him.

"I know, but I know one of them hit her face. I can't prove it, but I just know it." Pops said as he grew worried.

"Well, I can talk to Archie and see if he will keep an eye on things." I say as I finished my coffee.

"That'd be helpful sheriff." Pops said as he refilled my cup.

"She's too good for this to happen. She makes this town, well, a little brighter." Pops commented as he looked around. No customers yet, but that was ok for him too.

"Yeah. She's a tough kid." I comment as I thought of when she helped rescue me from my werewolfism.

"This town wouldn't be the same without the Andrews, especially Aria." I comment as I smiled softly.

"Heh. This town is a lucky one with them around, and never too dull either." Pops added with a chuckle. I finished my 2nd cup and ate my food before standing up and paying for my food.

"Welp, better get back to work. I'll talk to the Andrews boy and keep my eyes and ears open." I tell him as I adjusted my pants by the belt.

"Thanks, Much appreciated." Pops said as he seemed happy. This would be kept quiet from Aria though. For her safety.

*Aria's POV*

I managed to get the boys home and put on a movie for them before hearing a knock on the door. I went to the door and answered it, but all I saw was a bouquet of white lilies.

"For the best babysitter, and girlfriend, in the whole town." I heard the complimenting voice of Jughead. I giggled and took them.

"Oh wow! Thank you!" I said happily before smelling them.

"I went over to see you, but a strange lady answered and said you weren't worth the effort. Then Archie came out and told me where you were." He replied as I looked at him.

"Sorry. My parents are in town. My mom can be..." I apologized and started saying, but I trailed off since I couldn't think of what exactly to say.

"I know. She seems worse in person." Jughead said as he rubbed the back of his head. I hugged him, not wanting to let go.

"Archie told me what happened. If you want, I could convince my mom and dad to let you stay over if needed." He said in a comforting tone as he held me close. I shook my head no.

"I don't want to be a bother. Especially when your mom is due soon." I said as I thought back to Christmas when she announced to us all.

"Yeah, plus I have my cousin coming over to see me. I didn't go visit him last summer, but he's still coming here." He tells me as I pull away.

"Oh yeah. When's he coming over?" I asked as I leaned against the door frame.

"In a couple days." He replies with that cute smile of his. I looked over and saw Archie in the car. I waved.

"You two going somewhere?" I asked him.

"Well, since Archie got movie tickets to see Leprechaun, and Betty, Veronica and Reggie are going, I was wondering if you wanted to go with me?" He asked so cutely.

How could I say no?

"I'll be done with babysitting in a couple hours. Could Dilton come with us?" I asked, since I _was_ dating Dilton too and I wanted him to be a part of the group too.

"Sure. I'll even see if we can bring Midge, Moose, Big Ethel, Jimmy, Collins, Ronin, Geoff, Tyrone, and Tyler to tag along as well." He offered so suddenly. I smiled even brighter. A huge movie party.

"Yes! Sounds epic!" I said excitedly. I think Jughead _knew_ I needed to be around my friends right now.

"Alright. Just don't let Big Ethel sit near me please." He said as he had a hint of worry. The girl still had a huge crush on him and would still hug him and stuff. I trust her enough not to steal or attempt to steal Jughead away.

"No problem." I say with a smile.

"Ok. We'll get you when you're done." He said and kissed my sore cheek very gently, as if to make it feel better, before walking backwards to Archie's car.

"See you later cutie." I said with a wink. Jughead blushed, then tripped, stumbled, hopped on one foot backwards before falling in the back seat of Archie's car.

"I'm ok!" He called out as he gave a thumbs up. I giggled before closing the door. I turned with pink cheeks only to see the twins staring at me with big mischievous grins.

"Who was that?" Luke asked me.

"Oh. Just Jughead." I said as I blushed darker and tried to use the bouquet to hide it.

"Your _boyfriend?_ " Duke asked playfully.

"Y-yeah." I said shyly. The twins giggled before they chanted

"Aria's got a boyfriend!" Over and over. I laughed and spun them around.

"Alright alright. Enough teasing the sitter." I comment as I pushed them back to the couch and to their movie. They only giggled and sat down.

*3 hours later*

Mrs. Donavon had returned and Archie picked me up with Jughead and the others. I snuggled up to Jughead until we parked. We all got out, met up with the others, and soon sat down to watch the movie. I snuggled between Jughead and Dilton, not getting scared of the movie unlike Jughead and a few others, then Jimmy tossed popcorn at me from behind me. I turned and tossed gummy bears back at him. We ended up with a popcorn and gummy bear fight, which Jughead caught the stray food in his mouth happily, until the movie ended.

We all bolted out of there quickly so not to get into trouble. We all started laughing as we walked around the town. It was getting dark, but we didn't care much. We ended up at the park as I felt every trouble I had felt melt away. I smirked and lightly smacked Archie's arm before bolting.

"Archie's it!" I called out.

"Run for it!" Jimmy added and bolted. A few bolted away before Archie chased on. He tagged Tyrone and bolted near me. We played tag like little kids for over an hour until the sun had set. I was hiding behind a bush, panting softly with a smile.

Why was I hiding?

Well, I'm not it so I hide. Plus… I was tired. I had almost caught my breath when I heard rustling in a bush near me.

*Is someone hiding here too?* I thought as I quietly snuck over.

*I hope it's not a skunk.* I thought as I tried to be extra quiet. I moved the top of the bush and looked over it.

I saw nothing at first, but then something rose up and faced me. My eyes widened as I came face to face with yellow eyes and a tongue flicking out at me. I was at a loss for words as I heard it make a hiss/growl type of sound. I didn't move, actually my mind went blank, in fear of whatever it was would attack me. It's eyes were big, but I couldn't make out any other features. It flicked it's red tongue out once, then twice. On the third time, it opened it's mouth slightly. Drool of sorts dripped from its mouth. I saw a couple sharp teeth, though not too clearly, as it's tongue suddenly touched my cheek. Mind you, we were only a foot away, so it's tongue was _very_ long. It licked down to my neck as I shuttered in fear and disgust. I was too scared to move though.

*Wh-why can't I move? I-I'm paralyzed.* I thought in fear as the tongue wrapped around my neck. I gave a small whimper of fear just before it tightened a small bit.

"Aria? Hey Aria! Game's over! Come on out!" I heard Midge yell out. The thing let me go and was soon gone.

"Hey, there you are. Aria? Hey, you-" Midge started asking, but I suddenly saw spots and fell. I had fainted from fear.

*Midge's POV*

I didn't finish my sentence before I saw Aria faint. I barely caught her before she hit the floor. She looked very pale and her neck was wet. She looked like she was terrified.

"Moosey!" I called Moose over, since he stayed close by me. He ran right over.

"What's wrong Midge?" He asked me. I looked over at him.

"Help me get her back to the others. She fainted." I said as I looked over at where she had been looking before fainting. Moose picked her up while I looked over. I saw nothing there though.

"What's wrong? Is there something there?" Moose asked me curiously.

"No… Not from what I see. If something _was_ there, then it's gone." I said as I went over to him. Moose carried Aria to the gang as I followed in thought.

*Why did she faint though? Was she afraid? She's always brave though.* I thought as Archie came over to me.

"What happened?" He asked me with worry.

"I'm not sure. I went up behind her, letting her know the game was over, then she fainted." I explained to him.

"Where was she?" He asked me curiously.

"I'll show you." I say then walked him to where we were.

"She looks like she's afraid, like she was so scared she was frozen then fainted." I explained before showing him the spot.

"She was on her knees, looking over the bush. I checked, but I saw nothing." I explained to him. Archie then pulled out a small flashlight from his jacket pocket, almost like he planned this, before he shined it around.

*Guess he uses it on his investigations.* I thought, knowing sometimes he investigated things at night, and looked with him. I saw a shine on the ground and tapped him before point down. He shined down and saw…

a puddle?

Archie bent down and used his fingers to touch it.

"It's… Saliva." He commented as he looked around worriedly.

"There's no tracks though." I commented as we saw no tracks of any kind.

"Well, something was here. It scared Aria into fainting. But… What did she see?" He said then asked quietly as he looked up in the trees. Nothing. No broken branches, no tracks. This was impossible.

"Weird mystery time?" I asked him as he turned and gave that look.

"Yeah. A _very_ weird one." He commented.

 **TO BE CONTINUED! MWAHAHAHA! ENDING IT ON A CLIFF HANGER! SUFFER! LOL. I'll be updating soon. Cross my heart, hope to cry, stick a cupcake in my eye. BYE!**


	54. Chapter 53

OK! SO, I WAS EARKED THAT WE NEVER SAW SUPREME GIRL AGAIN AFTER THAT ONE EPISODE! SO, AFTER A LONG TIME OF THINKING THIS ONE THROUGH, HERE IT IS! ENJOY!

Chapter 53: The Return Of Supreme Girl!

*Aria's POV*

I woke up slowly, feeling dizzy still, and groaned.

*What happened?* I thought as I tried to sit up.

"Hey there. Don't rush getting up." I heard someone say. I fluttered my eyes to focus my vision.

"Archie?" I asked as I finally had clear enough vision to see him and his red hair.

"Archie? What happened?" I asked as I laid back down.

"You fainted. What happened?" Archie asked me. I had to stop and think before my eyes widened. I bolted up as my eyes widened in fear.

"Something was there… I don't know what, but I think it wanted to hurt me. It… It wasn't human nor any kind of normal creature. I couldn't see it though. Only big, yellow eyes, a long, red tongue and maybe sharp teeth. Archie… It frightened me. It's eyes made me paralyzed with fear." I said as I felt very ill.

"Midge took me to where you were. There were no tracks, but there was saliva on the ground, and your neck was wet from the saliva. Did it hurt you?" He asked as I tried to calm myself.

"It wrapped it's tongue around my neck. It was long enough to do that, but Midge scared it off." I told him as I put my hand gently on my neck. I realized I was in my room.

"Archie? How did I get here? Weren't we outside?" I asked as I finally sat up and looked around.

"Yeah, we were. After you fainted, Moose helped carry you to the car. We couldn't wake you up at all. You were pale and cold. I got you inside and bundled you up. You look a little better now." He commented as he took a wet cloth off my lap and in a bowl of warm water.

*Was that on my head?* I thought as I had failed to notice it.

"Is everyone ok?" I asked worriedly as Allegro snuggled up to me.

"Yes yes, they're alright. They were worried about you though. I was up all night between caring for you and researching any strange creatures near the woods." He comments. I looked at him confused until I looked at my clock. It read 1pm.

"1PM?!" I cried out.

"Calm down. You'll faint again, or worse." He said as he tried to have me lay down.

"Archie, It's 1pm. How could you let me sleep that long? Why didn't you wake me? Or call a doctor?" I asked worriedly.

"I tried to wake you, more than once, but you were out cold. I told mom and dad, they said if you didn't wake up after today, then they'd take you. Aunt and Uncle were upset. They said you were faking it for attention, but dad started scolding them. I ignored them and cared for you. I even kept them away from you." He tells me. I then hugged him gently.

"Thank you Arch. But… Did you find anything?" I asked, meaning his research.

"No, nothing. Nothing came up, no weirdness. I know you saw something, but I wish you'd seen more." He tells me. I tried to think, but I couldn't remember seeing any other details.

"I heard it though. It gave a weird hissing growl sound. It… It wasn't normal. Nothing I've ever heard before." I told him as I gave up trying to remember anything else.

"I'll research strange noises. Are you hungry?" He asked me. He looked tired and I felt bad.

"I can get it. You need to rest Arch. I'll research too." I say as I tried to stand up. I felt weak and almost fell, but Archie caught me.

"Woah there. You need to rest more than me, but I'll let you use my laptop while I get you food. Maybe you can find something I missed." He tells me as he helped me back in bed.

"But-" I started saying, but he gave me a 'Don't argue with me' look.

"Ok. Maybe I can find something you couldn't." I said in defeat. Archie smiled at me.

"Hey Archie. Could I have a burger or two?" I asked him sweetly. Archie thought about it.

"Yeah. Sounds good, I'll meet the gang at Pop's too. Our folks are going to be gone for the day, so you'll be able to rest." Archie told me as he put the covers over my lap before giving me his laptop.

"Thanks Archie. Let the others know I'm sorry for worrying them." I say with a weak smile. He nodded then left. I opened the laptop and began my research.

*Archie's POV*

I might've been tired, but I'd be ok. I had called everyone that was with us last night to let them know Aria was alright and to explain what she saw. They were going to meet up with me at Pop's, except Betty. She met me out at my car and now I was driving us to Pop's.

"So she only remembers yellow eyes, a red tongue and maybe sharp white teeth?" Betty asked me.

"Yeah. It must've been frightful. She either saw it and doesn't remember from fright, or that really is all she saw." I commented as I felt awful.

"She's better though, right?" She asked worriedly.

"She's not pale anymore, but she's weak. The fright really weakened her. I just can't explain anything, no proof other than the saliva and no records of anything. Aria's double checking for me though." I tell her as I tried to think of a reason. We pulled up and entered Pop's place. We went inside and started discussing all possibilities.

"You sure Doll Face didn't imagine it?" Reggie asked rudely. Jughead hit his arm.

"She's not a liar!" Jughead defended.

"Ow! Alright alright. Just had to ask." Reggie defended as he rubbed his arm. We were eating as we talked.

"You didn't see her faint like I did. She looked so scared. I've never seen her like that before." Midge commented as she remembered exactly what happened.

"You didn't see nor hear anything though?" Betty asked Midge.

"No. Nothing." Midge explained, looking like she felt bad for not seeing anything.

"Gee, guess you scared it off." Big Ethel commented.

"Strange though. Perhaps Aria caught it by surprise and, hearing Midge call for her, must've spooked it into thinking there were more of us around then it could handle." Dilton said as he calculated and voiced his thoughts.

"Either way, if Midge didn't call out for her in that area, Aria might've been dead by then." Ronin added.

"Alright. From now on, no one goes into that area alone. We go in two's of fours." I commented my plan out to them.

"Yeah, I agree. Safety in numbers." Geoff said as he bit into his burger. We all agreed as we ate and paid. I had ordered burgers to go for Aria and paid for those as well.

"I'm going back home guys. I'm going to give Aria her food and see if she found anything." I said as I grabbed my keys from within my pocket.

"Ok. Meet up later?" Betty asked me.

"Yeah, good idea." I said before waving goodbye and leaving. I hopped in the car and started driving. I couldn't stop worrying about Aria. I was at a red light, mind trailing off to where I didn't notice someone came up to my side of the car.

"Long time, no see cutie." I heard. I snapped out of it and looked before growing shocked.

"Wow! Supreme Girl! You're here?!" I said excitedly.

"Yup. I was in town and decided to visit the town cutie. How are you and Smarty doing?" She asked me.

"I'm alright, but Aria's not." I said to her.

"Say, maybe you could help us?" I asked her, thinking she might be able to figure out our mystery.

"Is she alright?" She asked me.

"Hop in and I'll tell you everything I know." I say as the light turned green. She, literally, hopped in the passenger side. I started driving just as she buckled up. I proceeded to explain what happened last night and what Aria saw, and didn't.

"Hmm.~ I think she saw what I came here for." Supreme Girl said in thought just as we pulled up. I was curious, but I figured she'd explain soon.

*Aria's POV*

*Curiouser and curiouser.* I thought as I stared at the computer screen. I read an article on how a lab was broken into. No sign of the mice but the place was ripped apart. There was saliva on the floor and the janitor who reported it heard some growling and hissing noises but saw nothing there.

*Just like last night. But why mice?* I thought as it was the only clue we had. I then heard a knock.

"Aria?" I heard through the door.

"Hey Arch. Come in. I think I found a clue." I called out as I kept my eyes on the screen. I heard the door enter, but didn't pay attention.

"You found something?" Archie asked as he put the lunch bag next to me.

"Yeah. A lab was broken into. Saliva was there, mice missing, place trashed and the same hissing growling sounds were heard that I heard." I said as I kept my eyes on the picture of the destroyed lab.

"Only mice?" Archie asked me.

"Yeah. I don't know why." I said softly.

"Because that's it's favorite food." I heard a familiar female voice. I looked up with shocked wide eyes, but then smiled brightly.

"Supreme girl! Back in town? Great to see you!" I said happily, but still a bit weak.

"That's right. Cutie told me what happened and, I must say, you're one lucky girl. Maybe I should call you Lucky instead of Smarty." She joked as she came over and sat on the edge of my bed by me.

"I have a feeling you came here for business, not a hello." I said suddenly as I turned the computer for her to see.

"That's right. I'm sorry that happened to you, but I'm happy to know you're alright." She said as she read. She then looked at me with a small smile.

"Do you feel alright?" She asked me.

"Sure, I think I can walk." I said as I tried to get out of bed. I stood up, but quickly fell. Supreme Girl caught me instantly and put me on my bed faster than I could react.

"Easy Smarty. Here, eat this. It should help." She tells me, then pulls out what looked like a Peanut with no shell but blue. I took it and tilted my head.

"What is it?" I asked curiously.

"It's a special food to help you gain energy. I save them in case I need them, except it doesn't help against my weakness. This should help you though." She tells me. I trusted her and ate the nut. I didn't chew it, only swallowed, before my eyes widened. I felt electricity run through me before hopping up. I felt great! Better than new!

"I feel amazing!" I say, full of energy.

"See? I told you it would help." She said with a bright smile.

"I feel like I could run a marathon 20 times!" I say as I darted to my closet.

"So? When do we leave?" I asked suddenly as I closed my closet door and got dressed.

"Leave?' Archie asked suddenly.

"Yes, to investigate. We need to interview and investigate the lab and who found it, even though it's been scrubbed up, but we also need to investigate the scene where I was attacked." I say as I come out in my new Rock Star outfit, the one I had modeled, and started brushing my hair.

"That sound's like a good Idea. Cutie, you go interview the people at the lab, Smarty and I will go to where she was last attacked and see if We can find some evidence." Supreme Girl instructed as I put my hair in high pigtails, twisting my hair around so it would seem shorter and spike out more, then redid my eyeliner and jewelry in record time. That nut made me feel like a bolt of lightning trapped in a small bottle.

"Ok. Want me to drop you two off?" Archie asked us.

"No, that's alright. I'll fly us there." Supreme girl said suddenly. I bolted up, in the middle of putting on lip gloss, and stared in shock.

"Fly?! Really?!" I asked as I nearly started bouncing in excitement.

"Sure. I owe you big time for trying to help me and going through what you did." She said with a smile, as she hinted at me being kidnapped and tortured trying not to reveal her secret.

"But I owe you." I remind her.

"No worries on that. It'll be faster." She says, as she made her point on not to argue with her. I only nodded and followed her outside with Archie.

"Ok. We'll meet up at Pop's." Archie said as he got in his car.

"Sure thing Cutie." She said and winked at him. Archie blushed before backing up and driving off. I chuckled at how he gets.

"Ready to fly?" Supreme Girl asked me.

"Yup. I'm ready." I said as I held my bag, which I had snatched on the way out, by the straps before slipping it on. I was suddenly on Supreme Girl's back before gasping at the sudden rush of wind. I looked and, sure enough, we were flying. I held onto Supreme Girl as I saw the town from the sky. She then stopped so we could see everything. I gasped at the sight of it all.

"Ok Smarty. Where were you when this happened?" She asked me. I looked from the theater to where we went from there. I pointed to the woods by the park.

"There. I'll know better from the ground." I tell her truthfully. She nodded and swooped down there. I held on and watched as we came in fast before landing. I gently got off her back and looked around. I knew this town by day and night, so this was easy for me. I guided her to where I was and stopped 10 feet away from the bush.

"I was there." I said and pointed to the bush, trying very hard to hide my fear. Supreme Girl say me gently shaking and held my hand, still pointing at the bush, very gently.

"It's alright. I'll be here to protect you." She assures me calmly. I looked at her and saw her kind smile and gentle eyes. It calmed me as I nodded. She then let go and started looking around. I stood where I was, but looked around in fear. I wasn't sure what it was, but it wasn't anything good. I just wished I knew what it was.

"I think we should head this way." She suddenly said, jolting me out of my thoughts, as she pointed deeper in the woods.

"You think it's hiding there?" I asked her suddenly. I didn't want to question her, but I wasn't sure if it could move fast or teleport or be closer to town because of the lab incident.

"It's a good start." She tells me.

"Do you wish to continue?" She asked me, seeing how nervous I looked.

"Yes. Yes, lets go. Someone needs to witness this and report this side of the story." I say, agreeing to go. She smiled and lead on, with me following behind her. Unaware of the yellow eyes that were watching our every move.

*Archie's POV*

I had reached the lab and had been trying to talk to the people in the lab, until one finally decided to talk to me. It was someone very familiar.

"Professor Luxord? You work here?" I asked in shock.

"Greetings Mister Andrews, and no, I own this lab facility." Professor Luxord greeted then informed me. I hadn't seen him since the beetle incident and the rest of that 2 months. It was almost like he disappeared for a while.

"What do I owe the pleasure?" He asked suddenly. I snapped out of it before pulling out a note pad and pen.

"I'm here to do an investigation on the missing mice." I said suddenly to him.

"What for? Everything was reported." He tells me as he motioned me to follow him. I walked with him before continuing.

"I need to know if anyone really did see something or not." I say as I looked around the lab.

"Everything was reported Mister Andrews. What is this really about?" He asked me suddenly as he looked up from his note pad and stared at me. I looked at him.

"My cousin, remember Aria? She was attacked last night and she pointed out that the saliva and noises that were heard were the same she encountered." I tell him honestly.

"I see. Did she see anything?" He asked me curiously.

"Only yellow eyes. I was wondering if anyone caught a glimpse of it, or what they thought they imagined." I tell him as I got ready to write. Professor Luxord looked around before guiding me into the lab. He closed the door and sighed.

"My mice were stolen, but so was a container. It was filled with an experimental liquid to make you stronger." He explained as he went over to a test area to show the missing vile.

"Does it work?" I asked him suddenly.

"Only on lizards." He tells me.

"The thing… I'm not sure, but… It wasn't normal." He tells me as he felt shaken.

"How so?" I asked him worriedly.

"I… I saw it. That night it broke in." He confessed to me.

"What?!" I exclaimed in shock.

"I saw it, but I wasn't sure. Even if I was sure, I'd be called crazy." He tells me as he holds his head.

"What did it look like?" I asked him. I needed to know.

"I'm not sure myself. It looked… It looked like a giant crocodile, but it had the nose and teeth of a great white, and a bone like tail. It hissed like a snake but drooled and growled like a monitor lizard. It was also black and seemed to blend in with the shadows. Honestly, it terrified me. I felt paralyzed just getting a glimpse of it." He tells me as I wrote down every word.

It sounded terrifying.

"Why do you need to know this? I doubt a teenager could stop it." He suddenly asked me.

"I know a super hero, Supreme Girl, that's hunting this alien and she knows this is the same one. I don't think she knew what it looked like either, but at least this will help her out." I say to him. He looked at me before chuckling.

"A super hero?" He asked me, as if it was a joke.

"Yes sir. I wrote about her in my weird mystery column." I tell him, knowing it was hard to believe.

"Ah yes, those silly fantasies you and your cousin write about." He commented.

"They aren't fantasies." I tell him sternly. He only shook his head.

"Anyhow, that's all I can tell you. Anything else?" He asked me.

"No sir. Thank you, I'll leave." I say and quickly left. I didn't see the Professor smile a wicked smile after I had left the room. I headed out to my car. I needed to find the girls and give them the information I now knew.

*Aria's POV*

I followed Supreme Girl deeper into the woods until we found the caves. It actually used to be part of the old mines, but they closed down years ago. It's supposed to be blocked off so no one gets hurt, but it looks like something decided to break through.

"Looks like we found it's hide out." I say as I grew worried again.

"Looks like it." She says as she examined the area. She then turned to me.

"Stay right here. I'll go in and look around, while you stay here and safe." She told me as she gave me a firm look, meaning I had no choice.

"Um… A-Alright." I stuttered out, deciding playing safe was actually better. Supreme Girl nodded before entering the cave. I had looked around, getting goosebumps at the thought of what that creature might've looked like, and moved from foot to foot in uneasiness. I then heard a noise. An all to familiar noise.

That hissing/growling again.

*That didn't sound like it came from the caves though.* I thought as I heard it again, this time right in my ear. I turned quickly and grew wide eyed at the sight of the creature. It looked like a giant crocodile, but it had the nose and teeth of a great white, and a bone like tail and all black. I saw it's eyes and suddenly froze in fear. I couldn't move at all. It gave a growl as it grabbed me. I tried to scream, but only a squeak came out.

"No use fighting him. You're under his power now." I heard. I looked and saw a deformed man, with bumps all over him and a lab coat on, suddenly appear. He reminded me of a worse looking Igor. I then saw him pull out a small capsule. He pushed the button and tossed it in the cave before I heard an explosion.

"Morpholomew, come." He ordered as he started leaving. The creature, Morpholomew, didn't move. The man looked back at us.

"Morpholomew! Come!" He ordered. Morpholomew looked at me, keeping me paralyzed, as he gave a vicious growl. The man sighed.

"Fine! Bring her! I don't care! Just come on!" He ordered in annoyance. I tried to gain courage to move, but was quickly knocked unconscious.

*Supreme Girl's POV*

I had heard an explosion before the mine started shaking. It was caving in.

"A trap!" I gasped out, realizing I, not only walked into it but, left Aria alone. I used my powers to try and escape before being buried alive. I managed to find a small opening from the ceiling, leading outside, and barely squeezed out. I flew to where I left her, but saw only saliva. I could only hope she was alive. I then saw Archie come over.

"Supreme Girl! I have information on the monster! Where's Aria?" He told me then asked as he looked around.

"Gone. I walked into a trap and ended up leaving her alone out her. What did you find out?" I asked him as I took the not book and read. I recognized the description.

"This creature should be extinct." I suddenly said.

"What do you mean?" Archie asked me.

"Only one person could've brought I back. Quick, where's the nearest abandoned building?" I asked him.

"It's not to far from here. I'll drive us." He told me. I followed him and hopped in his car. As he drove off, I started to tell him everything.

*Aria's POV*

I woke up, who knows how long ago, feeling weak. I tried to get up, but felt restraint.

*What the?* I thought as I opened my eyes. I saw I was restrained to a table.

"Glad to see you're awake." I heard the voice of that man again. I started struggling to break free, but was failing.

"Why am I here?!" I demanded. I heard him chuckle and saw him working over a table.

"The Morpholomew didn't want to leave you behind. Perhaps he wanted a snack, but I have better intentions for you my dear." He tells me as he turns to me, a needle in hand filled with a glowing blackish purple color.

"What… What are you going to do with me?" I asked worriedly.

"Simple, little red. I'm going to turn you into a Morpholomew as well, a female one of course, to mate with him." He tells me as he shrugs. My eyes widened.

"As well? What do you mean?" I asked as I tried to distract him.

"Well, back in my dimension and Supreme Girl's, there used to be creatures called Morpholomew. They were as old as the Dinosaurs you used to have here. They went extinct many many years ago, except for the DNA we recently discovered." He tells me as he gestures to the liquid in the needle.

"We?" I asked as I tried to get my wrists free.

"Yes, my assistant and I. Such a bright young lad he was. While digging, we discovered the bones of the Morpholomew. A male, larger than average, and a small female. Unfortunately, I had an accident and ended up like this. My assistant was fine, until I got a hold of him. I put the DNA in him while he slept and, well, you saw him already." He tells me with a wicked grin. My eyes widened as they teared up.

"You monster!" I yelled out at him.

"How old was he?!" I demanded. How dare he ruin someone's life for his own reason, whatever it may be.

"Only a few years older than you. He's almost perfect, except for one problem. While I can control him, he still has mild human instincts. Like last night, when he escaped. I saw him with you." He tells me as he drew closer.

"He was going to kill me! He put his tongue around my throat!" I yelled out as I struggled to move away from him.

"No… No, he wasn't. That wasn't what he wanted." He tells me. I stopped and grew curious. He saw that and smirked.

"That's the Morpholomew's mating ritual. He showed himself to you, he put his tongue around your neck to feel your heart rate in response. I'm curious as to what will happen, whether he would've actually killed you or not, so I'm making you his perfect mate." He tells me as he puts the needle close to me.

"No! Stay away!" I cried out in fear before hissing in pain. The needle punctured my neck.

"No use now." He tells me, but before he could inject it, something hit his hand. He let go and stumbled backwards.

"You leave that girl alone Professor Doom!" I heard the familiar voice of Supreme Girl.

"Leave me be! Morpholomew! Attack!" Professor Doom yelled out. There was the growling sound before I heard fighting. Professor Doom came back over to me, but was soon tackled my Archie.

"Archie!" I called out happily. I was glad to see him. He came over.

"Hold on!" He says as he pulled the needle out of my neck. He tossed it and went to undo my restraints, but a laser soon zapped him. He gasped in pain before falling down.

"NO!" I cried out as Archie hit the floor. He wasn't moving at all. My eyes started watering up.

"Foolish boy." He said with a sly grin. He then pulled out a purple liquid and tossed it on Supreme Girl. She gasped and fell.

"No! It's..." She started saying but grew weak.

"That's right. Trantonuim. Melted into a liquid. Don't think I didn't have special connections." Professor Doom said as I heard the Morpholomew hissing. I looked up and saw him grab Supreme Girl.

"No! No stop! Leave her alone!" I cried out in fear. Morpholomew turned and stared at me, causing me to be paralyzed again. It's fear gaze was powerful.

"Do it! Eat Supreme Girl!" He ordered.

"No… No..." I managed to say. Morpholomew the tilted his head curiously.

"Dr-Drop… Her..." I said, trying to be demanding, but the fear held me back.

*I must fight it! I must!* I thought as I struggled inwardly to fight the fear.

"Impressive, but it won't work. He only obeys me." Professor Doom said as he picked the needle back up.

"Why… You… Changed him." I said as I started shaking. Morpholomew hissed, as if he understood me.

"So? I did it for science." He tells me.

"No… You did it… For another reason…. To hurt people… To rule…. The dimensions." I managed out as my shaking started to die down.

"Well, you are much more intelligent than I thought. Yes, you are correct. I want to rule the dimensions, to get revenge for everyone mocking me! And I'll have revenge on the one who sent me to that dangerous sight in the first place!" He says, voice full of rage and fire, as he glared at the needle. It made sense.

"But… Harming innocent people… Turning your assistant… He shouldn't listen to you… He was innocent." I managed to say. Morpholomew hissed and growled as his hands shook.

"Silence! Morpholomew! Destroy Supreme Girl and you'll have your mate. You'd never be alone again!" Professor Doom tells him.

"No… He's… Using you… She's my… My friend… Drop her..." I say as I fought against this fear more and more.

"Destroy her!" He ordered again.

"No! Drop her now!" I suddenly ordered out loudly. Morpholomew listened to me and dropped her. He then started walking towards me.

"How dare you!" He said in rage. Morpholomew was now next to me, staring me down. I glared at him, fear leaving me as his gaze changed.

"Morpholomew! Obey me, or I'll kill her!" He ordered as he went near me. Morpholomew suddenly turned to him and hissed. Before anyone could do anything, Morpholomew lunged at the professor. I looked away as I heard him scream in agony. I heard flesh being ripped apart, bones crushed, chomping sounds, hissing, growling and screams of pain for a moment. The screams stopped as soon as it started, but the other sounds still lasted a small while. I shook and silently cried as I kept my gaze away from the sight.

He was eating the professor.

The noises stopped, but I dare not look. I felt claws on my chin as my head was moved. I opened my eyes to see Morpholomew, blood and drool dripping from his mouth. I shook as he suddenly raised his other clawed hand into the air. My eyes widened.

*Without the professor, he's a killing machine!* I thought just as the clawed hand slashed down. I prepared my fate of death, but nothing came. Instead, I felt my restraints come off. I used my eyes to look down as he backed up two steps from me. He broke my restraints. I shot up and rubbed my wrist.

"You… You freed me." I said softly as I looked at him. I saw the pool of blood behind him, along with an arm and a foot, as he stood and looked at me.

"Why?" I asked softly. He looked at me, no longer paralyzing me with fear. He growled something. I tilted my head curiously.

"Grrreee-dom.~" I suddenly heard him say. My eyes widened.

"What?" I asked softly in shock.

"Greee…. Greee… Freedom.~" I suddenly heard. I could understand him.

"You remember who you once were… Don't you?" I asked, unsure if he knew or not. He hissed but nodded yes.

"I… Am… Henrik." I heard him say in a husky tone.

"Henrik… I need water. I need to help Supreme Girl. I'm sure she'll find a cure for you." I say to him as I stood up. As soon as my feet touched the ground, my senses felt weird. I felt… different.

"No… Cure..." He hissed out suddenly. I looked up.

"But… No. I won't believe it!" I said suddenly. I was now determined to help cure him.

"Why… I… Am… Monster..." He said in a growling tone.

"No… No you're not. That professor was, not you." I said as I went over to him. I reached my hand out and pet his snout gently. He hissed softly as he gave me sad eyes.

"I need help. Help wash Supreme Girl off and help my cousin." I said as I looked at Archie. I went over to him and checked on him. He was still breathing. I heard Henrik moving around. I then heard a splash and looked up. Henrik did as I asked. Supreme Girl jumped up, energized and ready to fight, as she stared at Henrik.

"Supreme Girl! Don't!" I called out to her. She looked my way.

"What?" She asked in confusion.

"Henrik won't hurt anyone! Not anymore! He only wants freedom and a cure!" I say as I teared up. She lowered her guard a little bit as she looked right at me.

"You mean… You can understand him?" She asked me. I looked at her.

"Can't you?" I asked her.

"Could… You really… Find a cure?" Henrik hissed out sadly. He was still unsure. Supreme Girl looked at him cautiously.

"What is he saying?" She suddenly asked me.

"You didn't understand?" I asked curiously.

"No. But… How can you?" She asked as she looked over at me again.

"I… I don't know… But all Henrik wants is to be returned to normal." I say to her. She then crossed her arms and went into thought.

"I will try my best… Aria, did Professor Doom inject you?" She asked me. I shook my head no.

"Why?" I asked her.

"Where is he?" She asked me. I looked down.

"Henrik… He… Devoured him." I said sadly. Supreme Girl said nothing for a while.

"Is Cutie alright?" She suddenly asked.

"Yes, just out cold." I reply softly.

"Good. Aria, I don't want you to panic… But, I believe, you've been infected." She tells me. I looked up at her with wide eyes.

"What?" I whispered out.

"I believe, when Archie pulled the needle out of you, he accidentally injected a very small amount of that liquid into you." She suddenly concluded as Henrik looked at me now.

"Will… Will I change too?" I asked suddenly.

"No. But you'll be able to communicate with him. I don't know what else will happen, but I know, for certain, that you will not morph at all." She tells me in comfort. I nod.

"Don't tell Archie… Please. Not until we have a cure." I asked her, wanting to keep Archie from worrying.

"Alright. I'll work on a cure right away." She tells me. She came over, reaching in her pouch, then bent down to my level and handed me a communicator of sorts.

"Here. If something starts happening to you, or if I find a cure soon, we can stay in touch with this." She tells me softly, her eyes holding concern.

"Right." I say as I put the communicator in my pocket. Then Archie stirred and opened his eyes.

"Mmm. What happened?" He asked as he sat up and held his head.

"It's over. Supreme Girl is going to take Henrik back to their dimension to find a cure." I said softly to him. He looked right at me.

"Henrik?" He asked suddenly. I pointed right to Henrik.

"Gah! The Morpholomew!" He yelped out, seeing Henrik, and held an arm up to him.

"It's alright Archie. Henrik is a friend." I assure him. He just stared at me dumb founded.

"I'll explain later." I tell him as I stand up, helping him up as well. Supreme Girl stood up and smiled.

"You had me worried for a moment there Cutie." She tells him honestly with a small smile. Archie blushed as he rubbed his neck nervously.

"Well, I'm sorry." He said as he blushed a bit darker. I smiled and lightly giggled at how he was acting. Archie turned and gave me a pouting look. I then felt a big hand on my head before my hair was ruffled. I whined and moved away, seeing Henrik ruffled my hair, as I attempted to fix it. Henrik gave a hissing chuckle.

"Thank… You… Aria..." He said softly. I smiled.

"You're welcome." I say with a smile. I then turned to Supreme Girl.

"Do you have to go right away?" I asked her.

"Yes, as much as I'd like to stay and see you two a little while longer, the sooner I take him back, the sooner I can find a cure." She tells me and Archie.

"Before you go, could I get details on your escape and what happened. For the article?" Archie asked as he gave her puppy eyes. Supreme girl smiled.

"Well, alright. Only for you Cutie." She said with a wink. After about ten minutes of explaining, Archie writing, me listening and Henrik looking bored, Supreme Girl waved goodbye and used her watch to teleport her and Henrik away. Archie soon guided me out of this building and to the car. We got in and I buckled up.

"Are you alright?" He asked me.

"Yes. Yes, I'm alright Archie." I tell him. I wasn't going to tell him about my new ability. Not until I'm cured, if I ever am.

No.

When I am!

Archie looked at me, feeling like he knew I was lying, but shrugged it off.

"Were you scared?" He asked me as he started driving.

"Terrified. But, once you and Supreme Girl were down and out, I did my best to fight through the frightful gaze." I admitted to him.

"How did you fight through it though?" Archie asked me curiously.

"He was going to hurt Supreme Girl. The Professor said he still had some human in him, so I only hoped I could talk to him. You'd be surprised how bravery can fight through any fear when the ones you hold dear are in danger." I tell him.

*But was it also that liquid that helped me?* I thought to myself.

"Either way, thank you. This'll be an amazing story as well!" Archie said happily as we pulled up. We got inside, ignored my mother's glares, and hurried up to Archie's room to type up the story. I left out the part where I might be infected with that monster DNA for now.

"And so, thanks to Aria and her bravery, she fought through the fear gaze and saved Supreme Girl and myself. ~Archie. You'd be surprised how brave one can be when the ones you hold dear are in trouble. While I managed to talk to the Morpholomew, AKA Henrik, Professor Doom lost control of him and was met with a gruesome end. All because he wanted revenge and to rule all the dimensions. Bottling up his anger and fears is what caused this. It's something you shouldn't do. It's ok to admit when you're afraid, angry, sad, or anything like that. Don't hold it in, otherwise you might end up being another Professor Doom. ~Aria. Don't be foolish to act brave, but be brave when you need to. Aria's right. When you face your fears head on, anything is possible. ~Archie. …..Even in a little town called Riverdale! ~Archie and Aria!"

We finished typing and went down for dinner. After some scolding from my mother, Aunt Mary and Uncle Fred defending me and me feeling like crap from it all, I headed upstairs to bed. As I put on my night shorts and top I heard a knock on my door.

"Come in." I said as I put my hair down. I heard my door open as I brushed my hair.

"Mind if we talk?" I heard my dad say. I looked at him, about to tell him no, but saw something in his eyes. Something… Different. Something I hadn't seen since I was young.

Compassion.

"Sure." I said softly to him. He sat on my bed and sighed. I slowly decided to sit next to him, on my guard in case it was a trick for him to hurt me.

"I… I wanted to… spend the day with you tomorrow." He suddenly said. Was he worried I'd say no?

"Why? Why act like you care now?" I said sternly. He flinched at my words.

Wait… He flinched?

"A simple no would've been fine." He said with a sigh. Something was different.

"Will it be just us?" I asked him quietly. He looked at me before nodding yes.

"Your mom won't know. She'll be shopping tomorrow with Mary." He tells me. I was stunned. Why did he not want mom to know?

"Dad… What's going on?" I asked him quietly. He said nothing to me.

"Dad… Let me help you. If mom is threatening you or anything *Holds his hand in mine* I need to know so I can help." I say to him. My eyes held hope.

"No, nothing's wrong. Your mother loves me and, I know deep down, she loves you too." He suddenly defended, but not in a hateful way. Something was off, but I didn't want to upset him.

"Alright. But, just remember, you can tell me anything dad." I say softly to him. He smiled, a genuine smile, before pulling me into a gentle hug.

"I know. I want to know my daughter right now though. Fred has told me a lot, so I want to see for myself." He tells me before kissing my forehead gently.

"Night my song bird." He said, calling my the nickname he hadn't called me since I was 4, before getting up and leaving the room, shutting the door behind him. As soon as that door closed, I broke.

I cried.

They were tears of both sadness and joy. Sadness because he wasn't telling me something, but joy because he finally wanted to spend time with me, to know me without mom there to ruin it and, maybe even, love me. Allegro came out from under my bed, never once growling, and hopped up next to me. He kissed my face, licking up my tears, trying to make me feel better. I hugged him as I choked on my sobs.

AND THAT'S THE END OF THIS CHAPTER! WHAT DO YOU THINK? IS IT ALL A TRAP FROM HER FATHER? DOES HE REALLY MEAN IT? AND WHAT OF ARIA'S POWER? WILL THERE BE MORE TO IT? WILL SHE EVER BE CURED? FIND OUT SOON!


	55. Chapter 54

**HERE WE GO! i HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS LITTLE TWIST. i WELCOME ALL IDEAS, EVEN IF WE ARE CLOSING IN ON THE END. HOPE YOU ENJOY KIDDIES!**

Chapter 54: Daddy Daughter Day!

It was the next day, here in Riverdale, and I was nervous. Why? Because today was the day I spend time with my father. Was I scared?

Heck yes! But…

I was also a bit happy. I wanted to impress my parents and show them who I truly was and what I could do. My mother, I knew nothing would change, but my father… After last night, I had hope. Just a very small amount. It was really hot out today, so I had decided to shower. I poked my head out to see if the coast was clear. It was. I grabbed my robe and quickly went into the bathroom. After my shower, I was in my robe and rushed right into my room. I started looking through my clothes. Every time I reached for something, my mind flashed to him telling me I dressed like a whore and would put it back. I settled on my black top with the purple inside, aka the werewolf shirt, jean biker shorts, purple fishnet leggings and my biker boots. I put my biker gloves on and did my hair in a punk styled ponytail. I put silver studs on, my biker bracelets, black and silver eye liner and a touch of lip gloss. I looked myself over and sighed. It'll have to do. I went downstairs and saw my father drinking coffee while reading the paper and Archie typing on his laptop.

"Morning." I said softly as I went to the pantry.

"Morning. Sleep well?" Archie asked me.

"Yeah." I said as I looked through the pantry.

"So… You haven't made pancakes in a while." Archie said softly, hinting he wanted me to make some.

"Seriously?" I asked as I poked my head out to glare at him. He shrugged.

"Just a thought. Archie said, while my father just listened in on the conversation. I rolled my eyes but sighed.

"Ok. I'll make some." I said in defeat.

"Yes!" Archie cheered happily.

"So what ones? Blueberry? Banana nut? Oh! That amazing mixed berry!" Archie asked as he listed the ones he liked.

"You're sounding like Jughead." I commented suddenly.

"I am not." Archie huffed as I imagined he crossed his arms and pouted. I lightly laughed as I gathered up some stuff.

"So, where is everyone?" I asked Archie.

"Our moms went out shopping and dad had to work." Archie tells me. I came out with some stuff and got started.

"You never answered my question." Archie suddenly said.

"Hm?" I hummed out as I mixed.

"What pancakes are you making?" Archie asked again.

"It's a surprise." I hummed out happily. Archie pouted but smiled.

"Won't matter, they'll be good either way." Archie tells me. Hearing him say that made me smile even more.

"My pancakes usually are. Mine and Jughead's." I commented. As far as mom and dad knew, Jughead was Archie's best friend only. They had no idea I had a boyfriend, 2 actually. Dad looked up from his paper, eyebrow raised, and looked at Archie.

"Jughead? Your friend?" Dad asked Archie.

"Yeah. He comes over a lot, we hang out. Mom and dad like him and we watch movies and go to Pop Tate's." Archie commented.

"Pop Tate? He's still running that Chock'lite Shoppe?" Dad asked in shock.

"Yeah. Aria works as a waitress there." Archie commented as I poured the batter into a pan.

"You got a job?" Dad asked me.

"Yeah. Almost immediately when I got here." I tell him as I flipped the pancakes.

"A waitress though?" Dad questioned.

"It was a job I could get. I also babysit on the side. My availability increases in the summer time and I work as an elf for Mister Lodge during the Christmas time as well." I say as I put the pancakes aside and made more.

"And… You do good in school?" Dad asked me.

"Yeah. I study and no cheating. I'm able to keep up with chores and tutor as well." I say as I gave Archie a plate of 3. I gave him syrup and put whipped cream on it.

"Sweet!" Archie commented as he poured syrup on them. I put some in front of my father before going back to the pan. My dad looked at the plate before smelling them.

"Peaches and cream pancakes?" My dad asked curiously.

"If you don't like them, I'll make something else." I commented suddenly.

"No no. These are my favorite." dad suddenly said. I looked over, shock on my face, as he started eating them.

"Mine too." I said softly, finding out something new about him. Archie smiles as we started bonding. I sat down and ate. I hurried up a bit, drinking peach juice with my food, then collected the dishes and started washing them.

"I had forgotten how delicious Riverdale's peaches were." Dad commented happily.

"They're amazing." I added happily.

"I never knew you could cook." Dad commented with a happy tone.

"I had to learn when mom stopped cooking me food." I commented as I turned the water off and started drying my hands. Archie cringed while my father gave a look. I turned around and went to Archie.

"New mystery for the column?" I asked him as I started reading.

"Yeah. I heard a legend about mirrors being used for magic and being portals to another realm. Only enchanted, cursed or black mirrors though." Archie tells me as he started typing again.

"Black mirrors?" I questioned softly.

"Yeah. They're mirrors with a black tint behind the glass, usually in a black frame, and were from the 17th century." Archie commented.

"Were they big?" I asked him.

"Sometimes. They were big vanity mirrors usually, but there are rare ones that are small. They say these mirrors could also contact demons from the spirit world." Archie explained. I shuttered as I remembered that demon from limbo.

"A load of crock if you ask me." Dad suddenly commented.

"Normally, I'd agree, but Archie and I have seen things in this town. Read the columns sometime. Even if you think they're fake." I suggested before stretching.

"Ready to head out dad?" I asked him.

"Yes, I'm ready." He says as he stood up. Archie looked between the two of us with worry.

"We'll be back later Arch." I comment as I hugged him.

"Ok. Bye Aria. Bye Uncle Dave." Archie said cautiously as he watched us leave. I smiled as I walked out into the warm sunlight, a warm breeze blew by, as I stretched.

"What do you wanna do first?" I asked dad as I turned and looked at him. He closed the door behind him before turning to me with a small nervous smile.

"Well, what do you usually do?" He asked me curiously.

"Well, I usually work on a new science project, skate in the park, work, hang with friends, go to the movies or the arcade. You can decide what we do." I say as I felt a little nervous.

"Well, how about we walk around? I haven't seen Riverdale since…" He started but trailed off in thought.

"Since you left and then met mom?" I asked him curiously.

"Yeah…" He said softly. I gently took his hand, like a little girl holding her daddy's hand lovingly and wanting to show him something, smiling lovingly at him.

"A walk sounds perfect. I can show you the town and you can tell me what used to be there and what you used to do as a kid." I suggested happily. Dad blinked a bit before smiling. He genuinely seemed happy.

"I'd enjoy that." He tells me as his grip gently tightened. I smiled, and we were soon off. For a few hours we walked around, point out places and talking. I waved at some school mates that went by, showed him the store with the clothes I modeled, I decided not to talk about the mysteries, then we stopped right in front of Pop's for lunch.

"Hey dad, wanna stop here to eat? My treat? I also have to get my paycheck." I asked then mentioned my paycheck. He looked at the front of the place before looking at me.

"Well… Alright." He reluctantly agreed. I brought him inside, the place was a bit busy, as Pops looked up from the register. He smiled and waved, but then frowned a bit. I smiled and waved happily before bouncing to an open booth, dragging dad right behind me. He followed, looking around the joint, before sitting opposite side of me. Pops came right over.

"Well, hey Aria. The usual?" He asked me kindly.

"Yup." I said with a bright smile.

"Pops… This is my father." I said as they looked at each other.

"Nice to see you again Pops." Dad greeted quietly. Pops gave a fake smile as he glared coldly at him.

"I heard you were back in town." He commented as nicely as he could.

"Yeah… Me and the Mrs. I heard Aria works here." Dad commented awkwardly.

"Yes, she's the best employee I've ever had." Pops commented.

"The place hasn't changed one bit." Dad said as he looked around again.

"Well, why change what the kids like?" Pops suddenly asked.

"Pops. Could you get dad a burger? I'm treating today." I suddenly said, relieving the small amount of tension that was trying to grow, before Pops looked at me.

"Your treat?" Pops asked, secretly asking in code if I was alright. I smiled and nodded.

"Yes, it's a daddy daughter day." I commented, smiling a happy smile at Pops then at my father, as my father smiled right at me. Pops looked between us and realized we were making amends one step at a time.

"Alrighty, the usual, a burger with fries, and a pop coming right up. I'll also bring your paycheck and tips over." Pops said before walking off. I thanked him as he walked away.

"Are his burgers still amazing?" Dad whispered to me curiously as he leaned in. I chuckled as I leaned in.

"The best in the world." I whisper to him before giggling and sitting back. He smiled and chuckled before leaning back. He seemed happier than ever.

"Dad… I don't wanna ruin the mood… But…" I started saying but I trailed off, feeling awkward and scared to even ask. Dad looked at me curiously before figuring out what I was trying to ask. Why did you always yell at me and even go as far as hit me? He frowned and looked out the window.

"I… I'm not sure. I… I just felt anger and it was always aimed at you… I can't explain it… But, being here in this old town, seeing my brother and nephew and spending time with you, I feel… Happy." He commented before looking at me with sad eyes.

"I suppose… An apology wouldn't be enough." He said sadly to me.

"No words will do justice, but perhaps actions could. They tend to speak much louder than any word ever spoken." I suddenly commented without even thinking. My father gave me a look, a mix of anger and sadness, before he suddenly sighed and looked down. I saw his shoulders shaking, almost like he was crying, when he suddenly looked up.

He was chuckling.

"How did you become so smart so suddenly?" He asked me.

"I've always been smart. No one would believe me until I came here. I get mostly A's, with an occasional B or two." I say to him as I slowly started smiling again.

"Really?" He asked as his face went into both shock and impressed.

"Yes, I study hard so that I can, one day, go to college." I tell him softly.

"Any plans on what you want to do?" He asked me curiously.

"Unfortunately, no. I have yet to figure that out." I admit to him as I looked down. I was so scared he would be disappointed in me, or even ashamed. But what he said next shocked me.

"That's alright. You'll figure it out and, when you do, follow that dream and passion. Fight to accomplish your goals and never let anyone tell you otherwise." He tells me passionately. I looked up at him in pure shock at his words. It felt like yesterday, when I was 13, that he once told me I would never amount to anything nor be of any use to anyone.

"You… You're not lying… Are you?" I asked him cautiously.

"No… No, of course not. Listen to me. I'm not sure why I said the things I've said and acted the way I did towards you, but I'm trying. I'm trying to make amends and improve our relationship." He tells me, a pang of sorrow in his voice, as he looked at me sadly.

"I understand. Dad… Do you think… It's because of mom?" I asked him quietly. Before he could even answer, Pops came over with our food and drinks. My father looked at Pops and smiled, thanking him, before he saw the 6 burgers on my plate.

"You're going to eat _all that?_ " He suddenly asked as his eyes nearly bulged out of his head.

"Yeah. So? I love the food here." I say as I started eating one.

"It's true. She and Jughead Jones are my best customers!" Pops chimed in happily with a bright smile. He then handed me my pay and the tip money I earned for the week. I smiled and pocket it.

"Thanks Pops." I say cheerfully.

"Not a problem. By the way, would you mind coming into work tomorrow?" Pops asked me.

"Sure. What time?" I asked as dad looked between the both of us.

"Is 8am alright?" Pops asked me.

"Yes, of course. I'll always be willing to help out." I say with my usual bright cheery smile and attitude. Pops gave me a bright smile.

"Thank you, Aria. I swear, some days, I dunno what I'd do without your help." He tells me. He then saw he was needed elsewhere and hurried off.

"He didn't tell you how long you would be working for." Dad suddenly commented. I turned to him and smiled as I grabbed my second burger.

"Does it matter? I accept any hours he gives me, and since it's summer I tend to get more than during school time." I comment before eating. Dad tilted his head before he shrugged it off. He took a bite of his burger and smiled a smile of pure joy.

"Yup. Same delicious heavenly burger, as always." He commented before eating.

"I know right? I have yet to find the secret ingredient he uses." I say as I was now on my 4th burger.

"Trust me, I don't think _anyone_ will ever know." He chuckled out as he ate some fries. I chuckled as well. We finished our food and had a few laughs as well. It was nice to have my father back.

*Is it _really_ him? Is my mother _really_ the cause of all of this?* I thought logically to myself. But how? Why? Questions but no answers to compliment them. Perhaps, one day, the questions will find answers. Perhaps, if my father could change then, so could my mother.

*I seriously doubt it. The woman is like toxic.* I thought bitterly.

"So? Do you have any guys you're crushing on?" My father asked as I was drinking my soda. I nearly choked on my drink but swallowed it and coughed.

"Dad.~" I lightly whined.

"What? I'm curious about your life." He tells me as he leans forward a bit. I turned red and sunk down. He smiled, which I noticed is like mine meaning the Andrews' smile, and leaned back.

"Who is he?" He asked suddenly.

"Let's not get into it right now." I muttered as I paid and left a tip.

"Alright, how about friends?" He asked curiously as we stood up.

"Plenty of friends here. I'm friends with Archie's friends and have made new friends outside from his friends." I explained happily as we walked outside.

"Hey babe.~" I suddenly heard. I groaned in anger and annoyance.

"No.~ Go away.~" I whined out angrily as I tried to move away quickly. Wasn't fast enough though. I felt my wrist get grabbed before being pulled into Vinnie Wells' arms.

"Not gonna give me a kiss?" He asked me in a fake sweet tone.

"Oh yes honey, give your boyfriend a smooch." I suddenly heard from behind him.

Mom.

I realized the two met and he lied to her about us. I shoved him away.

"You chauvinistic, egotistical, manipulative, lying, two timing, abusing, perverted jerk!" I nearly screamed, not realizing my father was right behind me.

"That's no way to talk to this nice young man!" My mother scolded me.

" _Him?! Nice?!_ You call smacking me, hurting me, stalking me and even smashing my face with a crowbar _nice?!_ Have you lost your mind?!" I suddenly screamed at her.

"Don't you ta-" She started but I stopped her.

"No! You are going to listen! Both of you!" I shouted out loudly as I turned red. My aunt rounded the corner, but she saw there was no stopping me now.

"You are supposed to be a mother! To protect and love me! Not hate my guts and turn my father against me along with everyone else!" I shouted angrily at my mother. She looked like she wanted to speak, but no words formed out.

"And _you!_ " I shouted as I pointed a finger at Vinnie.

"Get the hint! No! N! O! I am not yours! You don't own me! I won't date you! I won't let you whore me out for your own fun! I won't tolerate the stalking, hitting and teasing my friends anymore! You busted my face up! You actually broke my nose! You're a criminal, a sex offender, an abuser, maybe even a druggie, and maybe even a killer in the making! I'll say this so even _you_ can understand me!" I said before taking a deep breath.

"I _**HATE**_ YOU!" I screamed to the top of my lungs right in his face. He wasn't happy. He had been scowling and shaking before he finally snapped.

'Punch'.

Yup. That's right. He punched me. He punched me right in my face. I felt my nose break for a second time. I heard gasps but also a chuckle.

"Serves you right." My mother scolded.

I lost it.

I lunged at Vinnie and started pounding him. I got some punched in, but he also fought me back. I felt hands on me as I was pulled back.

"NO! LET ME HIT HIM!" I screamed out loudly as tears tried to sting my eyes. I knew it was my aunt holding me back.

"Let the little bi-" My mom started but was interrupted.

"Shut up Dona! Just shut up!" I suddenly heard. I was shocked at who said it.

My _father!_

I looked and barely saw him. He had Vinnie in a sleeper hold. I was shocked. He _actually_ helped me.

"What?!" My mother nearly shrieked in horror. I was suddenly calm. I realized that my anger was almost like my mothers, except mine was for good reasons while hers was not.

"You heard me Dona! Enough! I'm tired of this! I see now who you truly are! You're not the woman I once loved! And to have me turn on my own daughter… I'm ashamed of you but also of myself." He said sadly. He then let Vinnie go but tossed him.

"Vinnie was it? You bother my daughter again and I'll bury you alive!" He said very suddenly. Vinnie didn't stick around, especially when he heard the sirens, and ran as fast as he could.

"How _dare you_ choose _her_ over _me!_ " Mom shrieked out. Dad ignored her and helped with my nose. Pops rushed out along with other teens. The sheriff, Mr. Werewolf, came right over. He sighed when he saw me.

"Vincent Wells again?" He asked in an exasperated tone.

"Yes sir. Witnesses this time. I yelled at him to leave me alone and that I hated him. He punched first, breaking my nose again, and then a fight broke out." I confessed to him.

"She's lying! She started attacking him for no reason!" My mother claimed. The sheriff turned and gave her a look.

"Are you her mother?" He asked her.

"Yes I am!" She tells him rudely.

"Then shut up!" The sheriff suddenly said sternly. Mom was flabbergasted.

"Vincent Wells is a delinquent and Miss Andrews never attacks unless she is in danger or is threatened! She is one of the most well respected and honest teenager I've personally met! I know, for a fact, she is telling the truth and I'm sure all these witnesses will side with her!" He said very sternly. My mother looked around and had no choice but to keep quiet.

"Let's get you to a doctor." Dad suddenly said. A deputy came over and took statements while the sheriff looked at us.

"I'll give you a ride. May I ask who you are?" Sheriff asked my dad.

"He's my dad. He pulled Vinnie off me and defended me." I said, rightfully defending him. He had started earning my trust now. I felt like he _was_ my father. Sheriff nodded and put me and my dad in the car while Aunt Mary went inside Pop's to call Uncle Fred and Archie. On the way, my father looked up at the sheriff.

"This really _has_ happened before hasn't it?" Dad asked worriedly.

"Yes sir." He commented.

"So… You said she was honest… Does that mean… The weird mystery columns?" He asked awkwardly.

"Yes sir. And, just so you know, she is brave." He commented suddenly.

"Dad… Remember I told you about the werewolf? And how Uncle Fred told you I was attacked by a savage wolf?" I asked him. Dad looked at me and nodded.

"Both were true. A werewolf _is_ a savage monster. And the werewolf, well… That was the sheriff… Before we found a cure of course!" I told him then defended him. Dad's face went pale at that moment.

"She's helped save our town more than once Mister Andrews. If I were you, I'd be proud to have a daughter like her." Sheriff said before stopping right in front of the hospital. Dad looked at the sheriff before down at me.

"I am… I see now that I should be." Dad said softly before kissing my forehead. I looked up, the tears finally falling, before I lunged forward and hugged him tightly.

"Daddy." I whimpered out before crying. Dad did nothing but hold me. He got me out of the car and carried me into the hospital.

*A couple hours later*

Uncle Fred was driving, dad was next to him, and I sat in the back seat. I had another cast on my nose. I looked out the window as familiar faces, places and trees went by. Once home I was sent inside. Mom was there, but Archie and Aunt Mary kept her away from me. It looked like mom was being forced to pack up. Good. She could sleep somewhere else.

*Dave Andrews' POV*

I had sat quietly in the car until we got to my brother's house. I felt ashamed of myself.

*How could I let her manipulate me?* I thought as I thought back to how Dona just acted a while ago.

I remember we first met when I was in the city, only 18 at the time. It started out as nothing, she barely noticed me at all. Over 3 year later, we got drunk at a party and, well, she told me two months later she was pregnant. At first I was happy, but someone told me it might not have been mine. After a test I discovered it was a girl and she was mine. That day, I fell in love with my daughter. I was excited to be a father. At the time, Dona seemed happy too. We got married right away and found a place to live. After Aria was born though, I noticed Dona didn't want to be around her as much. Especially since Aria was born a beautiful red head. I had only thought she had the baby blues and would recover. She didn't. As soon as Aria was put on a bottle, Dona hit the bottle too. A different one. It started out small, not that big a deal, but when Aria turned 7 it had spiralled out of control. I hadn't touched the stuff after she got pregnant, but something happened with me. I'm not sure what, but soon I was drinking and hurting my daughter. I remember doing it, but it also felt like a dream most of the time. Dona had sunk her nails deep into me and kept me close by.

Then Aria left.

The first year was different, a change without my daughter, but nearing the end of the second year I felt something. Loneliness and, perhaps, guilt. I was seeing Dona was treating me differently and was mostly trying to prevent this visit I had suggested. After a lengthy fight she agreed. She told me 'Once you see she's still a rotten brat, you'll regret going back.' She had told me. When my brother and sister and law got us though, I felt different. Like a wave of darkness was being pushed away. Yes, I gave my daughter an attitude when I got here, but I only saw her as what my wife had said. A disgrace and much more. After we saw the magazine, I started to see she wasn't lying. The night the dog 'attacked' Dona, I was mad. I stormed up to yell at her, but Fred pulled me away after a large attempt to bust down the door. I had started yelling at him, screaming even, but Fred was very calm when talking to me. He told me how happy she was being here, how Archie helped her make friends, the report cards and test scores he showed me, pictures of events like Valentines day and Christmas, her birthday, when she got her first job, her singing in the choir and so much more. I realized I was acting like a child. I listened and started hearing about the wonderful things my daughter had done through her two school years here. I didn't realize I had tears streaming down my cheeks until Fred said something to me.

 _I_ was a **monster!** After that night, I took a small while to think. When I heard Aria had fainted from fear, I thought she had, indeed, been faking. Until I had snuck in her room earlier that morning, without anyone knowing. The dog had glared at me, ready to growl, but I had ignored him and went right up to my sleeping daughter. She had been pale and was sweating in her sleep. I had stayed with her for over an hour, wiping her forehead with a wet cloth to calm her. I wasn't sure how long I was there until Archie came down. I saw him and said nothing until I walked by him. I told him the cloth on her forehead would help, then went downstairs for coffee. I felt awful that happened to her, but there wasn't much I could do. I guess Archie kept that morning a secret from her. I didn't blame him. She probably would've been scared. I took Fred's advice and had talked to her about a father daughter day. She seemed scared but had agreed. I left and pretended to walk away from the door. I heard her sobbing. Hearing that, it broke my heart.

I hadn't told Dona abut my plan to spend the day with her, but told her I would help Fred out instead. She started insulting him behind his back and saying things like 'I'm all you'll ever need.' and what not. I was in disbelief. The woman I thought I had loved, trying to turn me against my own family. She had tried to get me to drink some wine she brought, but I'd only pretend to drink it. I would really dump it in a plant or something like that. I had been doing that the day we got here.

Why?

I didn't want to seem like an alcoholic, like Dona, around my brother. Spending the day with Aria was nice. We were both nervous and worried, that part was clear, but she reached out and tried to make peace. We walked and talked and I noticed she was happier here than in the city. Much happier. We went to Pop Tate's and I could feel his glare. Fred had told me some people knew about her 'abuse', so I felt awkward and ashamed when Pops glared at me. His eyes said all. Aria seemed to have noticed and defended me immediately. I was shocked she did, especially after how I had acted all these years, but it showed she wanted peace.

She wanted a _father._

While eating, I noticed she eats like me, same bites, same motion. Burger, fries, burger, fries, drink, burger, drink. It astounded me how much in common I had been seeing, like with the pancakes. I had also noticed, through out the day, all she wanted to do was to have me be happy and she wanted to prove herself to me. She wanted me to be proud of her. I had thought Dona was wrong. How could a sweet girl get into fights? That was, until that delinquent Vinnie Wells showed up. I heard she had been in fights with him and was hospitalized, but I didn't want to believe it. He had been touching her and I got mad. When Dona mentioned boyfriend, I was confused. That was, until Aria ranted about how horrible he was and even screamed she hated him. When he punched her though, I was mad. He broke her nose! I thought she would cry, since she was shaking and all, but instead she lunged at him and started swinging punched left and right. I was both shocked and impress. That was, until he was hitting back. It was going to far and all Dona did was laugh.

She _laughed!_

I looked at Mary and we wasted no time. I pulled Vinnie away from her and put him in a sleeper hold, while Aria was screaming to let her go so she could keep punching him. I realized she had my temper. I saw her eyes, knowing she was seeing red like I had, and soon realized it was bottled up anger, buried so deep in her that even _she_ didn't know it was there, from all the abuse Dona had given her and even some from myself. I felt broken at that point. I had to change. For her. Aria was right. Dona was controlling me, manipulating me to keep to herself, and was toxic for everyone. Dona started making a comment, but I had told her to shut up. Needless to say, all three girls were shocked. I voiced my opinion before letting the punk go. I didn't want to kill him. I did threaten him though. He heard sirens and was off in a flash. I looked over at Aria, seeing her eyes water, and went to her aid. She had defended me and told me actions spoke louder than words. What better way to apologize then to defend her and be by her side. On the way to the hospital, the Sheriff told me the weird mysteries were true. My heart sank, knowing she was put in danger many times, but hearing how she and Archie were town heroes. Well, I was _proud!_ I was proud of my little girl.

Except…

She wasn't little anymore. She was almost grown up. I had wasted so much time, all because of Dona…

Because I was choosing my wife and believing her lies over my daughter and her truth. Fred turned to me, once Aria was in the house, and spoke.

"I'm sorry this all happened, but Mary told me how you defended Aria without a second thought. I know Dona is your wife, but I'm not letting her stay in my home any longer. I'll let you stay, but if you go with her, as disappointed as I would be, I won't stop you." Fred said to me. I turned and looked at him, tears stinging my eyes. Fred's eyes widened, since he hasn't seen me cry since we lost out mom when I was 16, as a few tears spilled.

"I choose my family… I choose my brother, sister in law, nephew and, especially, my little girl." I choked out. Fred teared up but smiled before reaching over and hugged me. I hated crying, but I let some tears spill as I hugged him.

''I'm a monster Fred." I said softly as I had finally bottled up my tears.

"No… No you're not. You're realizing your mistakes and trying to fix them." He assures me. I shook my head and moved away.

"No, I'm a horrible father and a horrible person. I hurt my daughter. I said and did awful things to her, all because I believed Dona over Aria. I even believed Dona over you and Mary for a while. I… I don't know why. Now… Oh god, now I've lost so much time with her and caused her nothing but anger and sadness." I say as I looked at him.

"How am I not a monster?" I asked him.

"Because you're learning, changing, and becoming wiser." He tells me. I wiped my eyes fully dry as I looked right at him.

"I'm getting a divorce. No questions, no excuses, I can't be with a woman who is toxic. It's like… It's like she had me under a spell, but no more!" I said as I voiced what was needed.

"Good for you. Let's get inside." Fred said as he got out of the car. I nodded and followed him inside.

"Dave! Oh thank goodness! Let's go! I don't want to be around trash anymore!" Dona said in a huge huff. Aria looked down in sadness, probably thinking I would, while Archie and Mary watched. Fred walked over to them and watched as well.

"No." I said suddenly.

"What?" Dona asked me in shock. Aria looked up, surprised at what I said.

"No. In fact, I want you to leave as well. I'm divorcing you Dona, it's over." I said calmly. Dona looked shocked, but then her face twisted in rage. She went up to me and smacked me.

"You will not!" Dona screeched out in fury. I did nothing but looked at her.

"Yes, I am serious. I'm tired of you using me, manipulating me and, worst of all, hurting Aria. I don't know how or why you're doing this, but it ends now." I say as calmly as I could. She was angry, that was clear, as she grabbed her suitcase and shoved me aside to walk out. She then turned and glared at everyone before staring at Aria.

"I'll kill you, all of you, but I'll save something far worse for _you_ darling daughter. A fate worse than death." Dona said in a scary, almost unnatural voice, before she walked out the door. I ran to it to say something, but she was gone.

Disappeared.

Vanished into thin air. I was shocked. I closed it, locking it immediately, and turned to them.

"She's… Gone." I said in shock. Everyone looked worried, everyone except Aria. She looked a bit shocked but was shaking. She then started crying.

"What do you _mean_ gone? Vanished gone?" Archie asked me. I only nodded as I went to Aria and hugged her tightly.

"It's alright my little song bird, I won't let her harm you." I said as I stroked her hair.

"No… I don't care if she does." She said, shocking me, before looking up at me with tears streaming down her face.

"I don't want anyone to die!" She exclaimed as she then bawled her eyes out. I couldn't believe it. She cared more about us than herself. I kissed her forehead and comforted her.

"Don't cry. I'm here, no one will die." I comfort her. I picked her up and brought her to the couch, sat down with her on my lap and rocked her gently, allowing her to cry. No one knew about the item she had left hidden away in the house, lying in wait until the time was right.

 **EVEN I'M IN TEARS AND I'M THE AUTHOR! I HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED THIS, I TRIED TO GO IN A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT DIRECTION THAN I FIRST WANTED, BUT I THINK THIS IS WORKING OUT MUCH BETTER! LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OR HOW YOU THINK THIS MIGHT END! HOW WILL THE MOTHER GET HER REVENGE? WILL IT BE AS HORRIBLE AS SHE SAYS? OR WORSE?! YOU'LL FIND ONE IN A FUTURE CHAPTER... JUST NOT THE NEXT ONE! BUH BYE!**


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